Contents

According to the Albanian Constitution, the Albanian Armed Forces are charged to: protect the territorial integrity of the country, be present in areas incurring menace, assist the population in case of natural and industrial disasters and warn the dangers of military and non military nature, protect the constitutional order as it is determined by law and participate in international operations in composition of multinational forces.

In 1927, the Albanian Armed Forces numbered approximately 8.000. These troops were organized into three groups, based in Tirana, Shkodër to the north and Berat to the south. Each group was organized into three battalions of 500. A guards battalion of 350 was organized in Tirana. Four frontier battalions of mountaineers were held on reserve, as well as tanks and armored cars. Additionally, a cadet school, a machine-gun school, and a bombing school were housed in the capital. Italian involvement in the Albanian Armed Forces was significant, with an Italian Colonel attached to each of the three main troop groups and an Italian officer attached to each battalion and battery and to each medical, veterinary, and transportation unit; in 1927 alone, the Albanian military ordered 20,000 rifles, 40 mountain guns, 120 machine guns, and other supplies from Italy.[13]

After the Second World War, Albania became a Soviet-aligned country, the ranks and the structure of the Albanian Armed Forces were organized based on the Soviet concepts, thus increasing the political control of the State-Party over the Armed Forces. One of the defining characteristics of civilian-military relations during this period was the effort of the civilian leadership to ensure the loyalty of the military to the communist system's values and institutions.

Like all other branches of the state, the military was subjugated to Communist Party control. All high-ranking military officers and most of the lower and middle ranks were members of the Communist Party—and had loyalties to it, the system was re-enforced by the establishment of Party cells within the military and extensive communist political education alongside soldiers’ military training, by the political commissars. To further increase its political control, the Albanian Communist Party enlarged the conscription system, thus enlisting in the Armed Forces personnel dedicated to the military career from the Albanian rural areas.

During all these years, Sigurimi which was the Albanian secret service during that period and was formed upon the KGB structure, was responsible for the execution, the imprisonment and deportation of more than 600 Officers from the Armed Forces, by completely neutralizing the Armed Forces ability to start a coup d'état. Initially the communist purge concentrated on the military personnel graduated by the Western Military Academies (mainly from Italy 1927–1939), extended later on to the officers graduated in Soviet Union (after the Albanian abandon of the Warsaw Pact in 1968), as the communist regime collapsed in Albania during 1990, there was a real fear that the armed forces might intervene to halt the collapse of communism by force. In the event, the armed forces stood by as the regime of which they had been a part disintegrated.

During the 1980s, Albania had reduced the number of infantry brigades from eight to four, it had shifted to fully manned units from its prior reliance on the mobilisation of reserve soldiers to flesh out a larger number of units manned at a lower level. Each brigade had three infantry battalions and one lightly equipped artillery battalion. Armoured forces consisted of one tank brigade. Artillery forces were increased from one to three regiments during the 1980s, and six battalions of coastal artillery were maintained at strategic points along the Adriatic Sea littoral.

In 1992, the Library of Congress estimated that the ground forces had about 35,000 men, or about three-quarters of all armed forces personnel,[16] because the strength of the ground forces was sufficient to man only about two divisions, brigades of approximately 3,000 soldiers became the largest army formation. In 1991 four infantry brigades constituted the bulk of combat units in the ground forces.

During the civilian riots in 1997, the political attempts by the government to use the Armed Forces to crush the rebellion were soon demonstrated to be a failure, following a total disintegration of the Armed Forces and the looting of the military facilities by the civilian population.[17]

Albania sheltered many thousands of Kosovar refugees during the 1999 conflict, and allowed NATO to provide logistical assistance for Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops through Communications Zone West headquartered in Durrës.[18] Albania was part of the International Stabilization Force (SFOR) serving in Bosnia (then EU mission ALTHEA), and Albanian peacekeepers are part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, ISAF and the international stabilization force in Iraq. Albania has been a steadfast supporter of U.S. policy in Iraq, and one of only four nations to contribute troops to the combat phase of Operation Enduring Freedom.[19] Increasing the military budget was one of the most important conditions for NATO integration. Military spending has generally been lower than 1.5% since 1996 only to peak in 2009 at 2% and fall again to 1.5%.[20]

Albanian soldiers conduct a joint patrol with U.S. soldiers in Iraq on January 13, 2005.

There was an incident in 2002 in Albania where it was discovered, in a cluster of mountain bunkers, 16 tons[21] of primitive, undocumented chemical weapon agents that Albania had forgotten about.[22]

In December 2006, the Armed Forces adopted a new structure based on the Joint warfare concept, it had three main Commands: the Joint Forces Command, the Joint Support Command and the Training and Doctrine Command. The Albanian Joint Forces Command (AJFC) consists of the Rapid Reaction Brigade, the Commando Regiment, the Navy Brigade, the Air Brigade and the Area Support Brigade, the Albanian Joint Support Command provides support and logistical functions to all AAF units. The Albanian Training and Doctrine Command was established as the main educational and training provider for the Albanian Armed Forces. The final number of personnel will be 13,800 (including 2,000 civilians), however this new structure lasted a little more than 3 years and on April 2010 returned to its classic and current form.[23]

Convoy transfer of Albanian Army.

In March 2008 the problem of massive amounts of excess ammunition stockpiled in Albania became known to the public through the tragic consequences of the explosion of an ammunition depot (the 2008 Tirana explosions).[24]

The Albanian Navy performs mainly Coast Guard duties, and recently the Albanian parliament has approved some amendments to the articles of the actual Law on the Coast Guard in Albania, in order to improve the necessary legal framework due to efforts at European Union-NATO integration, since February 2008, Albania participates officially in NATO's Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean.[25] Albania became a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on 1 April 2009.[26] It hosts an international fair on security and defense called the Albanian Military Exhibition (ALMEX) where different security industries can present their products and services for the regional market.[27]

After several major re-equipment programs, in 2001 the Albanian Armed Forces launched a 10-year reform program to become technologically advanced and fully professional by 2011, the new armed forces consists of about 14,500 troops including 2,000 civilians, trained to NATO standards.[28] The same radical reform is being implemented on surplus equipment, including airplanes, tanks, helicopters, artillery equipment, navy vessels, SALW and ammunition. Albania started an ambitious destruction program. However, Albania is still dealing with a huge amount of surplus and obsolete ammunition, a direct result of the country's long isolation and ethnic tensions in the area, the Albanian Ministry of Defense estimates such quantity up to 85,000 tons, but it is expected to increase up to 104,000 tons due to the ongoing downsizing process of the AAF.

In 2004 U.S. President George W. Bush authorized the use of Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program funds for projects in Albania, marking the first time such funds were authorized for use outside the former Soviet Union. With this funding the U.S. assisted the Government of Albania with the destruction of a stockpile of chemical warfare agents left over from the communist regime (Category 1, Total amount 16.7 tons).[29] The final cost of the project was US$48 million and was officially completed on 10 July 2007.

On 3 April 2006, the final contract for the delivery of 12 Bölkow-Blom MBBBO-105 lightweight twin-engine multi-role helicopters to the Republic of Albania was signed in Tirana between the Albanian Ministry of Defense and EurocopterDeutschland GmbH. According to the Albanian Government,[30] six of the BO-105 helicopters are designated for the Albanian Air Brigade, four for the Ministry of Interior and the remaining two for the Albanian Ministry of Health.

On 16 July 2014, The Albanian Defense Minister declared that within 2014 the Albanian Motorized Infantry Battalion will be fully combat ready and also equipped with modern NATO equipment, this will be the first unit in the Albanian Armed Forces to not have the AK 47 in its inventory. Instead the M4 carbine will act as its standard battle rifle.[31]

1.
Albanian Air Force
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The Albanian Air Force is the national Air Force of the Albanian military. The headquarters is located in Tirana and operates two airbases, Kuçovë Air Base and Tirana Air Base, military aviation started in Albania in 1914, when the Albanian government ordered three Lohner Daimler aircraft from Austria to form an air force. As a result of the outbreak of World War I, the order was cancelled, Albania did not have the resources to restart the development of a proper Air Force during the 1920s and 1930s. After the establishment of the Albanian Kingdom in 1928, King Zog formed the Royal Albanian Air Corps was formed under the direction of the Royal Albanian Army. The Royal Air Force, and the rest of Albanian armed forces, were abolished following the Italian invasion of Albania during the Second World War, on 24 April 1951, Following the end of the Second World War, Albania re-established its air force. An academy was founded in Vlorë in 1962, Albania cut diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union in 1962, leading to a shift to China for the supply of necessary parts to maintain its MiGs. After World War II, the Albanian Air Force finally came into existence when Albania was equipped with Soviet aircraft, the first squadron was equipped with Yakovlev Yak-9s. The first jet fighter to enter service was the MiG-15, dating officially the 15th of May 1955, some of the MiG-15s were Soviet fighters used and then withdrawn from the North Korean Air Force. The backbone of the Albanian Air Force jet fighters became MiG-19,12 MiG-19PM were delivered by the USSR in October 1959 and on the same year pilots and specialists were sent in USSR to train with the all-weather interceptor MiG-19 PM. After the collapse of USSR-Albanian relations, significant numbers of Shenyang J-6 fighters, were acquired from China, in the early 1970s, Albania exchanged its lot of Soviet-made MiG-19PM fighters equipped for beam-riding missiles, with 12, more advanced, Chengdu J-7A fighters. Two of them were lost in incidents in the early 1970s, a squadron of Shijiazhuang Y-5 was deployed in Tirana and the Air Force Academy in Vlora had 2 squadrons of Yak-18 for basic pilot training purposes. The helicopter component consisted in 18 Harbin Z-5 helicopters based in Farka Tirana, due to relations collapse between Albania and the Chinese, maintenance became extremely difficult and the number of deadly incidents involving Mikoyan fighters increased. The fuel conditioned the life-time of the jet engines and often was blamed as the reason of the deadly incidents. Following Fall of communism in Albania in 1990, the air force had 200 jets and 40 helicopters, during the 1997 uprising in Albania, seven MiGs were destroyed and their parts were stolen. In the early 90s, in an effort to keep the MiGs flying, by 2004, Albania still had 117 J-6C aircraft, although mostly were not operational and only 12 Chengdu J-7A. By 2006, Albania had scrapped over half of its Z-5s and had signed a contract for the delivery of six Bolkow 105s over three years and this expansion allowed air force to operate with 4 Y-5s,7 B206s,3 B205s,6 Bolkow 105s. Currently, the Albanian Air Brigade does not operate any old Soviet aircraft, since 2011,9 Shijiazhuang Y-5 are retired from service. In 2011, the air force sold four Il-14 transport planes for scrap, in 2016,40 retired Albanian military aircraft were prepared for auction at a future date

2.
Tirana
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Tirana /tᵻˈrɑːnə/ is the capital and largest city of Albania and as well the heart of Albanias cultural, economic and governmental activity. It is located on the center of the country surrounded by hills with the Dajti Mountain on the east. The city is located some 700 kilometres north of Athens,290 km west of Skopje,250 km south-east of Pristina and 160 km south of Podgorica. Tirana is a city with a history dating from the Paleolithic times back 10,000 to 30,000 years ago to the present day. The oldest settlement located in the area of the city was the Cave of Pellumbas, as argued by various archaeologists, Tirana and its suburbs are filled with ancient Illyrian toponyms as its precincts are some of the earliest regions in Albania to be inhabited. One of the ancient monuments, the Tirana Mosaic is believed to have part of a 3rd century ancient Roman house. Later, in the 5th and 6th centuries, a Paleo-Christian Basilica was built around this site, Tirana was founded as a city in 1614 although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. An almost unimportant centre until the beginning of the 20th century, the Congress of Lushnjë proclaimed Tirana as the capital of Albania, Tirana is one of largest cities in the Balkan Peninsula ranking 7th with a population of 800,000 and the largest Albanian-speaking city in the world. The municipality, has a population of 800,986. It is also the biggest Metropolitan area in Albania and the one with a population of over 800.000. Being Albanias primate city, Tirana is the political, social and cultural center of Albania. Almost all of the largest companies, media and scientific institutions have their headquarters in the city, the city is ranked in the Top 10 of the sunniest cities in Europe with a total of 2,544 hours of sun. As argued by various archaeologists, Tirana and its suburbs are filled with Illyrian toponyms, as its precincts are some of the earliest inhabited regions in Albania. A castle possibly called Tirkan or Theranda, whose remnants are found along Murat Toptani Street, was built by Emperor Justinian in 520 A. D. the area had no special importance in Illyrian and classical times. Records from the first land registrations under the Ottomans in 1431–32 show that Tirana consisted of 60 inhabited areas, Tirana is mentioned since 1572 as Borgo di Tirana. In 1614, Sulejman Bargjini, a ruler, built the Old mosque, a small commercial centre. During this period, the Ethem Bey Mosque, built by Molla Bey of Petrela, was constructed and it employed the best artisans in the country and was completed in 1821 by Mollas son Etëhem, who was also Sulejman Bargjinis grandnephew. In 1800, the first newcomers arrived in the settlement, the so-called ortodoksit and they were Vlachs from villages near Korçë and Pogradec, who settled around modern day Park on the Artificial Lake

Tirana
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View of Tirana's Rinia Park with towers 4-Ever Green and TID in the background
Tirana
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Tirana by Spot satellite
Tirana
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Tirana Bazaar at the turn of the 20th century
Tirana
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Tirana before 1914

3.
Ilir Meta
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Ilir Rexhep Meta is an Albanian politician, who served as the 31st Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2003 and again from 2009 to 2010 and he also held positions as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy, in both left-wing and right-wing governments. As a member of the Socialist Party of Albania, Meta was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and he subsequently founded the Socialist Movement for Integration in 2004 and continues to lead the party. From 2009 to 2013, the LSI was a member of the coalition with the right-wing Democratic Party of Albania. Meta served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Trade, prior to that, he held the Chairmanship of the Parliamentary Commission of European Integration. Following the 2013 parliamentary election, Ilir Meta was elected as Speaker of Parliament on September 10,2013, Meta was born in March 24,1969 in Skrapar. He graduated from the Faculty of Economy, Political Economy branch, of Tirana University, Ilir Meta has been lecturer at the Economic Faculty of Tirana University. He has also lectured at several renowned universities and academies overseas, including Harvard University, London School of Economics, Ilir Meta speaks Albanian, English and Italian. He is married to Monika Kryemadhi and they have two daughters and a son, Bora, Era and Besar. Ilir Meta has been engaged in politics since 1990 as a participant in the students movement against communism that brought political pluralism in Albania. Since 1992 he has been elected Member of Parliament in all legislatures and has been a member of several Parliamentary Commissions. In November 1999, Ilir Meta succeeded to Pandeli Majko as Prime Minister for the Socialist Party of Albania, after the Albanian parliamentary election,2001 he won a second mandate, lasting until February 2002, when he give back the post to Pandeli Majko. During this period, Albania engaged in a range of important reforms, in 2004 Meta left the Socialist Party and founded its own Socialist Movement for Integration. From 2004 to 2006, Ilir Meta was nominated as member of the International Commission on the Balkans, chaired by the former Italian Prime Minister, the Commission drafted a series of important recommendations towards the integration of the Western Balkan countries into the European Union. Meta was an early and strong campaigner for the visa-free with the Schengen area, in March 2012, Meta received the Most Positive Personality for 2010 in Foreign Policy AWARD by International Institute IFIMES in Ljubljana. The award was presented to Meta by former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, IFIMES praised Metas vision at the head of Albanian diplomacy as a political personality with a regional weight and with a clear purpose to create a more open, positive and integrated region

Ilir Meta
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Ilir Rexhep Meta

4.
Minister of Defense of Albania
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The Ministry of Defence is part of the Albanian government responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the Albanian Armed Forces. The current minister is Mimi Kodheli, the Ministry of Defence includes numerous smaller agencies aside from the three main branches of the military. These agencies, centers, and offices report to the Minister of Defence, the Authority of the State Export Control is the agency tasked with controlling the export, import, and transportation of military goods. The Military Export Import Company is an agency tasked with carrying out related to importing and exporting military goods to meet the needs of the Albanian Armed Forces. The Center of Culture, Media, and Defence Publications is an involved in public relations. The Inter-Institutional Maritime Operation Center is an inter-ministry agecy tasked with managing Albanias maritime territory and it is a collaboration between the Ministries of Defence, Internal Affairs, Finance, Environment, Transportation, Agriculture, and Tourism. The Defence Intelligence Security Agency is an intelligence agency within the Ministry of Defence. It is governed by Law No

5.
Chief of the Albanian General Staff
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The Chief of the General Staff is the chief of the General Staff and Albanian Armed Forces. The chief of staff is appointed by the President of Albania, the position dates back to the Provisional Government of Albania. The current Chief of the General Staff is Major General Jeronim Bazo, in 1925, Prime Minister Ahmet Zogolli created a new constitution for Albania, forming the Albanian Republic. On 1 September 1928, Zogolli amended the constitution, dissolved parliament, the Kingdom collapsed following the Italian invasion of Albania. The following individuals served during the era of communism in Albania, serving the National Liberation Movement, the Democratic Government of Albania, in this time, the powers of Commander-in-chief were held by the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. The following individuals served following the fall of Communism in Albania, the new Albanian constitution shifted the powers of Commander in Chief to the newly formed office of the President of Albania. Albanian General Staff Albanian Armed Forces Former Chiefs of the Albanian General Staff 1913–2013

Chief of the Albanian General Staff
Chief of the Albanian General Staff
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Emblem of the Albanian General Staff
Chief of the Albanian General Staff

6.
Vacant
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A closely related meaning is the number of units in such a building that are rented, leased, or otherwise in use. Lack of occupancy, in sense, is a vacancy. It is possible to have multiple occupancies within one building, for example, a high-rise building can have retail stores occupying the lower levels, while the upper levels are residential. Different occupancies within a building are separated by a barrier with a defined fire-resistance rating. It is common for a penetration to have a fire protection rating lower than the wall fire–resistance rating in which it is installed, for example, a two-hour fire separation normally requires fire doors rated at 90 minutes. For some high challenge occupancies, the requirements for an occupancy separation are more stringent than for other fire barriers. In this case, a separation with a two-hour fire-resistance rating may not be able to de-rate its closures, such fire doors. For example, a two-hour rated high challenge fire wall requires two-hour rated fire doors, firestops in occupancy separations are also more likely to require an equal fire protection rating. In this manner, occupancy separations are treated similarly to fire walls which are stable in case of a fire. In this sense, there are two occupancies in many homes, the garage and the living space of the home. Because automobile gasoline is flammable, a separation is often required between the two should there be a vehicle fire. Water heaters and central heating are often placed in space as well for their use of natural gas, propane. This also helps to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, occupancy can also refer to the number of units in use, such as hotel rooms, apartment flats, or offices. When a motel is at full occupancy, it is practice to turn on a NO VACANCY neon sign. Completely vacant buildings can also attract crime, occupancy can also refer to the number of persons using an undivided space, such as a meeting room, ballroom, auditorium, or stadium. As with building codes, fire protection authorities often set a limit on the number of people that can occupy a space at one time. These limits are established primarily to allow all occupants safe passage through exits, an occupancy sensor is a device that can tell if someone is in a room, and is often used in home automation and security systems. These are typically more advanced than motion sensors, which can detect motion

Vacant
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The interior of a vacant building showing signs of vandalism and decay

7.
Afghanistan
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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. It has a population of approximately 32 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north and its territory covers 652,000 km2, making it the 41st largest country in the world. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, the political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a state in the Great Game between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country and it remained peaceful during Zahir Shahs forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of wars that devastated much of Afghanistan. The name Afghānistān is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, the root name Afghan was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix -stan means place of in Persian. Therefore, Afghanistan translates to land of the Afghans or, more specifically in a historical sense, however, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that he word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. An important site of historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites. The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and it has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire. Archaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, in more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well, after 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan, among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, the region at the time was referred to as Ariana

8.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, in short, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city, in the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a region that traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich history, the Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much of the cultural and social outlook of the country. This was followed by annexation into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which lasted up until World War I. In the interwar period, Bosnia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the country proclaimed independence in 1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995. The country is home to three ethnic groups or, officially, constituent peoples, as specified in the constitution. Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is identified in English as a Bosnian. The terms Herzegovinian and Bosnian are maintained as a rather than ethnic distinction. Moreover, the country was simply called Bosnia until the Austro-Hungarian occupation at the end of the 19th century, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is itself complex and consists of 10 cantons, additionally, the country has been a member of the Council of Europe since April 2002 and a founding member of the Mediterranean Union upon its establishment in July 2008. The name is believed to have derived from the hydronym of the river Bosna coursing through the Bosnian heartland. According to philologist Anton Mayer the name Bosna could be derived from Illyrian Bass-an-as which would be a diversion of the Proto-Indo-European root bos or bogh, meaning the running water. According to English medievalist William Miller the Slavic settlers in Bosnia adapted the Latin designation Basante, to their own idiom by calling the stream Bosna, the name Herzegovina originates from Bosnian magnate Stephen Vukčić Kosačas title, Herceg of Hum and the Coast. Hum, formerly Zahumlje, was a medieval principality that was conquered by the Bosnian Banate in the first half of the 14th century. Bosnia is located in the western Balkans, bordering Croatia to the north and west, Serbia to the east and it has a coastline about 20 kilometres long surrounding the city of Neum. It lies between latitudes 42° and 46° N, and longitudes 15° and 20° E, the countrys name comes from the two regions Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have a very vaguely defined border between them

9.
Chad
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Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east and it is the fifth largest country in Africa in terms of area. Chad has several regions, a zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad, the capital NDjamena is the largest city. Chads official languages are Arabic and French, Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The religions of Chad are Islam, followed by Christianity, beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa, in 1960, Chad obtained independence under the leadership of François Tombalbaye. Resentment towards his policies in the Muslim north culminated in the eruption of a civil war in 1965. In 1979 the rebels conquered the capital and put an end to the souths hegemony, however, the rebel commanders fought amongst themselves until Hissène Habré defeated his rivals. He was overthrown in 1990 by his general Idriss Déby, since 2003 the Darfur crisis in Sudan has spilt over the border and destabilised the nation, with hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees living in and around camps in eastern Chad. Unsustainable high birth rates and a lack of agriculture let the country persist in poverty, while many political parties are active, power lies firmly in the hands of President Déby and his political party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Chad remains plagued by violence and recurrent attempted coups détat. Chad is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world, since 2003 crude oil has become the countrys primary source of export earnings, superseding the traditional cotton industry. In the 7th millennium BC, ecological conditions in the half of Chadian territory favored human settlement. Some of the most important African archaeological sites are found in Chad, mainly in the Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region, for more than 2,000 years, the Chadian Basin has been inhabited by agricultural and sedentary people. The region became a crossroads of civilizations, the earliest of these were the legendary Sao, known from artifacts and oral histories. The Sao fell to the Kanem Empire, the first and longest-lasting of the empires that developed in Chads Sahelian strip by the end of the 1st millennium AD, two other states in the region, Baguirmi and Wadai Empire emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries. The power of Kanem and its successors was based on control of the trade routes that passed through the region

10.
Mali
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Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres, the population of Mali is 14.5 million. The countrys economy centers on agriculture and fishing, some of Malis prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt. About half the population lives below the poverty line of $1.25 a day. A majority of the population are Muslims, present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade, the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. During its golden age, there was a flourishing of mathematics, astronomy, literature, at its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire covered an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of Africa. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, French Sudan joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegals withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. In January 2012, a conflict broke out in northern Mali, in which Tuareg rebels took control of by April and declared the secession of a new state. The conflict was complicated by a coup that took place in March. In response to Islamist territorial gains, the French military launched Opération Serval in January 2013, a month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second round held on 11 August. The name Mali is taken from the name of the Mali Empire, the name was originally derived from the Mandinka or Bambara word mali, meaning “hippopotamus”, but it eventually came to mean the place where the king lives. The word carries the connotation of strength, D. Niane suggests in Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali that it is not impossible that Mali was the name given to one of the capitals of the emperors. 14th century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reported that the capital of the Mali Empire was indeed called Mali and this name could have formerly been that of a city. In old Mali there is one village called Malikoma which means “New Mali. ”Another theory suggests that Mali is a Fulani pronunciation of the name of the Mande peoples. It is suggested that a sound shift led to the change, whereby in Fulani the alveolar segment /nd/ shifts to /l/, Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, slaves, and other precious commodities

Mali
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The pages above are from Timbuktu Manuscripts written in Sudani script (a form of Arabic) from the Mali Empire showing established knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. Today there are close to a million of these manuscripts found in Timbuktu alone.
Mali
Mali
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Griots of Sambala, king of Médina (Fula people, Mali), 1890.
Mali
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Cotton being processed in Niono into 180 kg (400 lb) bales for export to other parts of Africa and to France, c. 1950.

11.
Iraq
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The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds, others include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians, around 95% of the countrys 36 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism, and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish, two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws, the area has been home to successive civilisations since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian and it was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires. Iraqs modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres, Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932, in 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Baath Party from 1968 until 2003, after an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Husseins Baath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country, the Arabic name العراق al-ʿIrāq has been in use since before the 6th century. There are several suggested origins for the name, one dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin, as Uruk was the Akkadian name for the Sumerian city of Urug, containing the Sumerian word for city, UR. An Arabic folk etymology for the name is rooted, well-watered. During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿajamī, for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the south of the Hamrin Mountains. The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In English, it is either /ɪˈrɑːk/ or /ɪˈræk/, the American Heritage Dictionary, the pronunciation /aɪˈræk/ is frequently heard in U. S. media. Since approximately 10,000 BC, Iraq was one of centres of a Caucasoid Neolithic culture where agriculture, the following Neolithic period is represented by rectangular houses. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gypsum, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations

12.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world

13.
Turkey
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Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Assyrian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black. The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has also been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age

14.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci

15.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states

16.
Albanian language
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Centuries-old communities speaking Albanian-based dialects can be found scattered in Greece, Southern Italy, Sicily, and Ukraine. Due to the large Albanian diaspora, the number of speakers is much higher than the native speakers in Southeast Europe. The first audio recording of Albanian was made by Norbert Jokl on 4 April 1914 in Vienna, the Albanian language is part of the Indo-European language group. In general there is insufficient evidence to connect Albanian with one of those languages, Albanian is now considered an isolate within Indo-European, no extant language shares the same branch. The only other languages that are the surviving member of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian. Although Albanian shares lexical isoglosses with Greek, Balto-Slavic, and Germanic languages, in 1995, Ann Taylor, Donald Ringe and Tandy Warnow described as surprising their finding, using quantitative linguistic techniques, that Albanian appears to comprise a subgroup with Germanic. This theory is reinforced by subsequent research by the same authors, Albanian also shares two features with Balto-Slavic languages, a lengthening of syllabic consonants before voiced obstruents and a distinct treatment of long syllables ending in a sonorant. Other conservative features of Albanian include the retention of the distinction between active and middle voice, present tense and aorist. In another but uncommon hypothesis, Albanian is grouped with both Balto-Slavic and Germanic based on the merger of Proto-Indo-European *ǒ and *ǎ into *ǎ in a northern group. However, this shift is now regarded as only part of a larger push chain that affected all long vowels. The earliest loanwords attested in Albanian come from Doric Greek, whereas the strongest influence came from Latin, curtis, the loanwords do not necessarily indicate the geographical location of the ancestor of Albanian language. However, according to linguists, the borrowed words can help to get an idea about the place of origin. The period during which Proto-Albanian and Latin interacted was protracted and drawn out roughly from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. This is borne out into three layers of borrowings, the largest number belonging to the second layer, which may be compared to, for example. The first, with the fewest borrowings, was a time of less important interaction, the final period, probably preceding the Slavic or Germanic invasions, also has a notably smaller number of borrowings. Other formative changes include the syncretism of several case endings, especially in the plural. Such borrowing indicates that the Romanians migrated from an area where the majority was Slavic to an area with a majority of Albanian speakers and their movement is probably related to the expansion of the Bulgarian Empire into Albania around that time. Jernej Kopitar was the first to note Latins influence on Albanian, Kopitar gave examples such as Albanian qiqer from Latin cicer, qytet from civitas, peshk from piscis and shigjetë from sagitta

Albanian language
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Illyrians, Dacians, Getae and Thracians at 200 BCE
Albanian language
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Albanian
Albanian language
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October 1899 issue of the magazine Albania, the most important Albanian periodical of the early 20th century
Albanian language
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Albanian children at school

17.
Albania
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Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeastern Europe. It has a population of 3.03 million as of 2016, Tirana is the nations capital and largest city, followed by Durrës and Vlorë. The country has a coastline on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea to the west. Albania is less than 72 km from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea. In antiquity, the area of Albania was home to several Illyrian, Thracian. After the Illyrian Wars, it part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. In 1190, the first Albanian state, the Principality of Arbanon was established by archon Progon in the region of Krujë, the territory of Albania was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, of which it remained part of for the next five centuries. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, following the Balkan Wars, the Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. The following year, a socialist Peoples Republic was established under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, Albania experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community. In 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the Republic of Albania was established, Albania is a democratic and developing country with an upper-middle income economy. The service sector dominates the economy, followed by the industrial. After the fall of communism in Albania, Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy, Albania has a high HDI and provides universal health care system and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. Albania is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and it is also an official candidate for membership in the European Union. Albania is one of the members of the Energy Community, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. It is home to the largest lake in Southern Europe and one of the oldest lakes in Europe, Albania is the Medieval Latin name of the country. The name may have a continuation in the name of a settlement called Albanon and Arbanon. During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbëri or Arbëni, Albanians today call their country Shqipëri. As early as the 17th century the placename Shqipëria and the ethnic demonym Shqiptarë gradually replaced Arbëria, the two terms are popularly interpreted as Land of the Eagles and Children of the Eagles

18.
Prime Minister of Albania
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Prime Ministers of Albania is the head of government of the Republic of Albania. The Prime Minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the branch of government in a parliamentary system. Executive power rests with the Council of Ministers, the Chairman of the Council is appointed by the President, ministers are nominated by the President on the basis of the Prime Ministers recommendation. The Peoples Assembly must give approval of the composition of the Council. The Council is responsible for carrying out foreign and domestic policies. It directs and controls the activities of the ministries and other state organs, the first Prime Minister of Albania was Ismail Qemali. The current Prime Minister is Edi Rama, since 15 September 2013, the Constitution of Albania states that the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister can also initiate a proceeding of the Constitutional Court of Albania

Prime Minister of Albania
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Incumbent Edi Rama since 15 September 2013
Prime Minister of Albania
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Emblem of the Council of Ministers

19.
Ali Shefqet Shkupi
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Ali Shefqeti was the son of Hysen Shefqeti, and Albanian originating from İpek who had settled in Uskub. His mother was a local Albanian woman from a rich family, Ali was born in Uskub in September 1883. His brother was Naxhi Shkupi, another Albanian nationalist who invested most of his wealth into the Albanian new state, at the end of the Academy he was given the rank captain. Later, he served various positions in the Ottoman Third Army in Macedonia and he supported the Young Turks movement, being part of the military units which attacked Istambul in 1908. Disappointed from the Young Turks, and taking advantage of his location in Macedonia where most of the Albanian nationalist movements were situated, the end of Albanian Revolt of 1912 would find him in Istambul with the rank major. Ali Shkupi received information that he was on the list to get arrested, in March 1913, he participated in the Albanian Congress of Trieste. Ali Shkupi could not reach Vlora because of the blockage from the Greek Navy although his desire was to join the Albanian government and he managed to land near Fier area from an Austro-Hungarian ship. He was immediately assigned with the organization of the Ministry of War which he succeeded, Ali Shkupi put in place all the experience he had gathered from the extended military education and military service in the Ottoman Army. On May 5,1913, Vlora Government would approve the Statute for the organization of the Ministry of War. The newly created Ministry of War would also have Back Lines Office, Personnel Office, the statute was detailed and included all necessary structures and mechanisms of a modern army. On 31 May 1913, the General Staff of Shkupi informed the Albanian Ministry of War for the creation of military units. The Albanian Army so far consisted mostly of irregulars, Shkupi proposed the mandatory military service. He also built a special commission engaged with military terminology, together with former Ottoman military figures Mustafa Maksuti, after the resignation of Ismail Qemalis government on 22 January 1914, Shkupi still held high military positions under Prince Wied. With the break out of World War I, he settled in Shkoder, with the Montenegrin occupation of Shkoder, he got arrested and released only in 1916 when Austro-Hungary invaded Montenegro. He was a supporter of Congress of Lushnje, the government that came out of the congress in January 1920 would assign him first Commander of the General Command, and later Chief of the General Staff. Ali Shkupi was a supporter of Hasan Prishtina and the June Revolution of Bishop Noli, with the return of Ahmet Zogu in power in December 1924, he would be arrested and interned twice. He was accused as an organizer of the Fier Revolt of 1935, and got sentenced to death. Ali Shkupi was not active during World War II, although he was an opponent of the Italian invasion, the Nazis would burn his house in Tirana

20.
Italian invasion of Albania
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The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom. The conflict was a result of the imperialist policies of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Albania was rapidly overrun, its ruler, King Zog I, forced into exile, and the country made part of the Italian Empire as a separate kingdom in personal union with the Italian crown. Albania had long been of strategic importance to the Kingdom of Italy. Italian naval strategists coveted the port of Vlorë and the island of Sazan at the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë, in addition, Albania could provide Italy with a beachhead in the Balkans. Before World War I Italy and Austria-Hungary had been supportive to the creation of an independent Albanian state, at the outbreak of the war, Italy had seized the chance to occupy the southern half of Albania, to avoid it being captured by the Austro-Hungarians. That success did not last long, as Albanian resistance during the subsequent Vlora War and post-war domestic problems forced Italy to pull out in 1920, the desire to compensate for this failure would be one of Mussolinis major motives in invading Albania. Later, during the High Middle Ages, some areas had been influenced and owned by Italian powers, chiefly the Kingdom of Naples. The Italian Fascist regime legitimized its claim to Albania through studies proclaiming the racial affinity of Albanians and Italians, when Mussolini took power in Italy he turned with renewed interest to Albania. Italy began penetration of Albanias economy in 1925, when Albania agreed to allow Italy to exploit its mineral resources and that was followed by the First Treaty of Tirana in 1926 and the Second Treaty of Tirana in 1927, whereby Italy and Albania entered into a defensive alliance. Among other things the Albanian government and economy were subsidised by Italian loans, despite strong Italian influence, King Zog I refused to give in completely to Italian pressure. In 1931 he stood up openly to the Italians, refusing to renew the 1926 Treaty of Tirana, after Albania signed trade agreements with Yugoslavia and Greece in 1934, Mussolini made a failed attempt to intimidate the Albanians by sending a fleet of warships to Albania. As Nazi Germany annexed Austria and moved against Czechoslovakia, Italy saw itself becoming the member of the Pact of Steel. The imminent birth of an Albanian royal child meanwhile threatened to give Zog a lasting dynasty, after Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia without notifying Mussolini in advance, the Italian dictator decided to proceed with his own annexation of Albania. Italys King Victor Emmanuel III criticized the plan to take Albania as an unnecessary risk, Rome, however, delivered Tirana an ultimatum on March 25,1939, demanding that it consent to Italys occupation of Albania. Zog refused to accept money in exchange for allowing a full Italian takeover, the Albanian government tried to keep secret the news of the Italian ultimatum. While Radio Tirana persistently broadcast that nothing was happening, people became suspicious, on April 5 the kings son was born and the news was announced by cannons. People poured out into the streets alarmed, but the news of the newborn prince calmed them, people were suspicious that something else was going on, which led to an anti-Italian demonstration in Tirana the same day. On 6 April there were demonstrations in Albanias main cities

Italian invasion of Albania
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Three Albanian soldiers are shown here in an unidentified location in Albania, April 12, 1939.

21.
Zogu
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Zog I, King of the Albanians, born Ahmet Muhtar Zogolli, taking the surname Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. He first served as Prime Minister of Albania, then as President and his rule as king was characterized by oppression of civil liberties and was similar to the concurrent regime in Italy. His family was a family of landowners, with feudal authority over the region of Mati. His mothers Toptani family claimed to be descended from the sister of Albanias greatest national hero and he was educated at Galatasaray High School in Constantinople, then the seat of the decaying Ottoman Empire, which controlled Albania. Upon his fathers death in 1911, Zogolli became governor of Mat, being appointed ahead of his elder brother, in 1912, he signed the Albanian Declaration of Independence as the representative of the Mat District. As a young man during the First World War, Zogolli volunteered on the side of Austria-Hungary and he was detained at Vienna in 1917 and 1918 and in Rome in 1918 and 1919 before returning to Albania in 1919. During his time in Vienna, he grew to enjoy a Western European lifestyle, upon his return, Zogolli became involved in the political life of the fledgling Albanian government that had been created in the wake of the First World War. His political supporters included many southern feudal landowners and noble families in the north, along with merchants, industrialists, during the early 1920s, Zogolli served as Governor of Shkodër, Minister of the Interior, and chief of the Albanian military. His primary rivals were Luigj Gurakuqi and Fan S. Noli, in 1922, Zogolli formally changed his surname from Zogolli to Zogu, which sounds more Albanian. In 1923, he was shot and wounded in Parliament and he returned to Albania with the backing of Yugoslav forces and Yugoslavia-based White Russian troops under General Wrangel and became Prime Minister. Zogu was officially elected as the first President of Albania by the Constituent Assembly on 21 January 1925, on 28 June 1925, Zogu ceded Sveti Naum to Yugoslavia as a gesture of recognition to the Yugoslav aid to him and in exchange for Peshkëpi village and other minor concessions. His principal ally during this period was Italy, which lent his government funds in exchange for a role in Albanias fiscal policy. During Zogus presidency, serfdom was gradually eliminated, for the first time since the death of Skanderbeg, Albania began to emerge as a nation, rather than a feudal patchwork of local Beyliks. His administration was marred by disputes with Kosovar leaders, primarily Hasan Prishtina, however, Zogus Albania was a police state. He all but eliminated civil liberties, muzzled the press and murdered political opponents, under the constitution, Zogu was vested with sweeping executive and legislative powers, including the right to appoint one-third of the upper house. For all intents and purposes, he held all governing power in the nation, on 1 September 1928, Albania was transformed into a kingdom, and President Zogu became Zog I, King of the Albanians. He took as his name his surname rather than his forename. He also initially took the parallel name Skanderbeg III, but this fell out of use, on the same day as he was declared king, he was declared Field Marshal of the Royal Albanian Army

22.
Xhemal Aranitasi
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Xhemal Aranitasi - was a general and commander in chief of the Royal Albanian Army. He was the son of Ibrahim Aranitasi, a colonel of the Ottoman Empire. He graduated from the Monastir Military High School, and then at the academy in Istanbul. During the Balkan wars he fought in the Ottoman army, as the leader of a machine gun unit, during World War I, when most of the territory of Albania was invaded by the Austro-Hungarian Army, he served in the Aranitas municipality as a commander of the gendarmerie. In 1920 he joined the Royal Albanian Army and four years later he was a battalion commander, in 1925, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he became the general commander of the Royal Albanian Army. Although major decisions on the Army were taken by officers of foreign origin, such as Gustav von Myrdacz and Leon Ghilardi, in 1929 he was promoted to general. He served as aide-de-camp of Zog of Albania before this task was taken by Mehmet Konica. On April 6,1939, on the eve of the invasion of Albania by the Italian Army, Aranitasi left the country and settled in Turkey and he was awarded the Grand Ribbon of the Order of Skanderbeg

23.
Second world war
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan

24.
Party of Labour of Albania
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The Party of Labour of Albania was the vanguard party of Albania during the communist period as well as the only legal political party. It was founded on November 8,1941, as the Communist Party of Albania, in 1991, the party was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Albania. For most of its existence, the party was dominated by its First Secretary, Enver Hoxha, in the 1920s, Albania was the only Balkan country without a Communist party. The first Albanian communists emerged from the followers of Albanian clergyman and politician Fan S. Noli, once in Moscow, they formed the National Revolutionary Committee and became affiliated to the Comintern. In August 1928, the first Albanian Communist Party was formed in the Soviet Union, the most prominent figure of the party was Ali Kelmendi who left Albania in 1936, to fight in the Spanish Civil War. He was later regarded as the leader of a group of Albanian Communists in France. However, no unified organization existed in Albania until 1941, following the German attack on Russia, Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito under Comintern directives sent two Yugoslav delegates Miladin Popović and Dušan Mugoša to Albania. These two helped unite the Albanian communist groups in 1941, after intensive work, the Albanian Communist Party was formed on November 8,1941 by the two Yugoslav delegates with Enver Hoxha from the Korça branch as its leader. The PKSh was the dominant element of the National Liberation Movement, the LNC drove out the German occupiers on 29 November 1944. From that day onward, Albania was a full-fledged Communist state, in every other Eastern European country, the Communists were at least nominally part of a coalition government for a few years before seizing power at the helm of out-and-out Communist dictatorships. King Zog was barred from returning to Albania, though the monarchy was not formally abolished until 1946. Under Hoxha, the party became the most rigidly anti-revisionist party in the Soviet bloc, the party even went as far as to engineer an Albanian version of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. When it became apparent that Maos successors were moving away from his legacy in 1978, Hoxha led the party and state more or less without resistance until his death in 1985. His successor, Ramiz Alia, was forced to initiate reforms in order to revive the countrys stagnant economy. However, in late 1989, various elements of society began to speak out against the still in place. The execution of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu led Alia to fear hed be next, in response, he allowed Albanians to travel abroad, ended the regimes longstanding policy of state atheism, and slightly loosened government control of the economy. However, these only served to buy Alia more time. Finally, bowing to the inevitable, on 11 December 1990, Alia announced that the PPSh had abandoned power, the PPSh won the Constitutional Assembly elections of 1991

Party of Labour of Albania
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Party of Labour of Albania Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë

25.
Maoism
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Mao Zedong Thought, or Maoism, is a political theory derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong. Its followers are known as Maoists, the modern Chinese intellectual tradition of the turn of the twentieth century is defined by two central concepts, iconoclasm and nationalism. It was this association of conservatism and Confucianism which lent to the nature of Chinese intellectual thought during the first decades of the twentieth century. Chinese iconoclasm was expressed most clearly and vociferously by Chen Duxiu during the New Culture Movement which occurred between 1915 and 1919, vital to understanding Chinese nationalist sentiments of the time is the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed in 1919. The negative reaction culminated in the May 4th Incident which occurred on day in 1919. The May 4th Incident and Movement which followed, catalyzed the political awakening of a society which had long seemed inert, yet another international event would have a large impact on not only Mao but also the Chinese intelligentsia, the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Although the revolution did elicit interest among Chinese intellectuals, socialist revolution in China was not considered an option until after the May 4th Incident. Afterwards, To become a Marxist was one way for a Chinese intellectual to both the traditions of the Chinese past and Western domination of the Chinese present. During the period following the Long March, Mao and the Communist Party of China were headquartered in Yanan. During this period Mao clearly established himself as a Marxist theoretician, the rudimentary philosophical base of Chinese Communist ideology is laid down in Maos numerous dialectical treatises and was conveyed to newly recruited party members. This period truly established ideological independence from Moscow for Mao and the CPC, the Initial Marxist Period from 1920–1926, Marxist thinking employs imminent socioeconomic explanations, Maos reasons were declarations of his enthusiasm. Mao did not believe education alone would bring about the transition from capitalism to communism because of three main reasons and these reasons do not provide socioeconomic explanations, which usually form the core of Marxist ideology. The Formative Maoist Period from 1927–1935, In this period, Mao avoided all theoretical implications in his literature and his writings in this period failed to elaborate what he meant by the Marxist method of political and class analysis. Prior to this period, Mao was concerned with the dichotomy between knowledge and action, now, he was more concerned with the dichotomy between revolutionary ideology and counter-revolutionary objective conditions. There was more correlation drawn between China and the Soviet model, the Mature Maoist Period from 1935–1940, Intellectually, this was Maos most fruitful time. The shift of orientation was apparent in his pamphlet Strategic Problems of Chinas Revolutionary War and this pamphlet tried to provide a theoretical veneer for his concern with revolutionary practice. Mao started to separate from the Soviet model since it was not automatically applicable to China, Chinas unique set of historical circumstances demanded a correspondingly unique application of Marxist theory, an application that would have to diverge from the Soviet approach. The Civil-War Period from 1940-1949, Unlike the Mature period, this period was intellectually barren, Mao focused more on revolutionary practice and paid less attention to Marxist theory

26.
Guerrilla war
–
The term, the diminutive form of war in Spanish, is usually translated as little war, and the word, guerrilla, has been used to refer to the concept since the 18th century, and perhaps earlier. In correct Spanish usage, a person who is a member of a guerrilla is a guerrillero if male, the term guerrilla was used in English as early as 1809, to refer to the fighters, and also to denote a group or band of such fighters. However, in most languages guerrilla still denotes the style of warfare. The use of the diminutive evokes the differences in number, scale, guerrillas usually carries positive connotations, and is often used by such fighters themselves and by their sympathizers, while their foes in many cases call them terrorists. Making an objective definition of the difference between a guerrilla and a terrorist has proven a difficult task, the strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare tend to focus around the use of a small, mobile force competing against a larger, more unwieldy one. The Guerrilla focuses on organizing in small units, depending on the support of the local population, tactically, the guerrilla army would avoid any confrontation with large units of enemy troops, but seek and eliminate small groups of soldiers to minimize losses and exhaust the opposing force. Not limiting their targets to personnel, enemy resources are preferred targets. All of that is to weaken the strength, to cause the enemy eventually to be unable to prosecute the war any longer. It is often misunderstood that guerrilla warfare must involve disguising as civilians to cause enemy troops to fail in telling friend from foe, however, this is not a primary feature of a guerrilla war. This type of war can be practiced anywhere there are places for combatants to cover themselves, at least one author credits the ancient Chinese work The Art of War with providing instruction in such tactics to Mao. The Chinese general and strategist Sun Tzu, in his The Art of War or 600 BC to 501 BC, was the earliest to propose the use of guerrilla warfare and this directly inspired the development of modern guerrilla warfare. Guerrilla tactics were employed by prehistoric tribal warriors against enemy tribes. Evidence of conventional warfare, on the hand, did not emerge until 3100 BC in Egypt. Since the Enlightenment, ideologies such as nationalism, liberalism, socialism, because of the innovative tactics he used during his command, he made himself the name of Terror Romanorum. A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency operation involves actions taken by the government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it. Counter-insurgency operations are common during war, occupation and armed rebellions, the two most influential of scholars of counter-insurgency have been Westerners whose job it had been to fight insurgents. Robert Thompson fought during the Malayan Emergency and David Galula fought during the Algerian War, together these officers advocated multi-pronged strategies to win over the civilian population to the side of the counter-insurgent. The widely distributed and influential work of Sir Robert Thompson, counter-insurgency expert of the Malayan Emergency, thompsons underlying assumption was that the counter-insurgent was committed to improving the rule of law and bettering local governance

Guerrilla war
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Spanish guerrilla resistance to the French invasion in 1808
Guerrilla war
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Boer guerrillas during the Second Boer War in South Africa
Guerrilla war
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Female Soviet partisans operating under Sydir Kovpak in German-occupied Ukraine
Guerrilla war
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Mass shootings of Vendée royalist rebels in western France, 1793

27.
Vietnam War
–
It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades

28.
Ramiz Alia
–
Ramiz Tafë Alia was the second and last Communist leader of Albania from 1985 to 1991, and the countrys head of state from 1982 to 1992. He had been designated as successor by Enver Hoxha and took power after Hoxha died, Alia died on 7 October 2011 in Tirana due to lung disease, aged 85. He was the first President of Albania from 1991 to 1992, Alia was born on 18 October 1925. His parents were from Gheg clan and they fled Kosovo during the Balkan Wars and he grew up and spent his childhood in Tirana. In the early part of World War II Alia was a member of a Fascist youth organization, in 1943, he became a member of the Albanian Communist Party. He had risen rapidly under Hoxhas patronage and by 1961 was a member of the ruling Political Bureau. Hoxha chose Alia for several reasons, first, Alia had long been a militant follower of Marxism-Leninism and supported Hoxhas policy of national self-reliance. Alia also was favored by Hoxhas wife Nexhmije, who had once been his instructor at the Institute of Marxism-Leninism, when he succeeded Hoxha in 1985, the country was in grave difficulty. Political apathy and cynicism were pervasive, with segments of the population having rejected the governments values. The economy, which suffered from low productivity and permanent shortages of the most basic foodstuffs, social controls and self-discipline had eroded. The intelligentsia was beginning to resist strict party controls and to criticize the failure to observe international standards of human rights. Apparently recognizing the depth and extent of the malaise, Alia cautiously and slowly began to make changes in the system. His first target was the economic system, in an effort to improve economic efficiency, Alia introduced some economic decentralization and price reform in specific sectors. Alia did not relax censorship, but he did allow public discussions of Albanias societal problems and encouraged debates among writers, in response to international criticism of Albanias record on human rights, the new leadership loosened some political controls and ceased to apply repression on a mass scale. In 1989, general amnesties brought about the release of many long-term prisoners and he strengthened ties with Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. A loosening of restrictions on travel and tourism resulted in a more promising outlook for Albanias tourist trade, on 9 December 1990, student demonstrators marched from the Enver Hoxha University at Tirana through the streets of the capital shouting slogans and demanding reforms. By December 11, the number of participants had reached almost 3,000, in an effort to quell the student unrest, which had led to clashes with riot police, Alia met with the students and agreed to take further steps toward democratization. The students informed Alia that they wanted to create an independent political organization of students, Alias response was that such an organization had to be registered with the Ministry of Justice

Ramiz Alia
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Ramiz Alia

29.
Sigurimi
–
The Drejtoria e Sigurimit të Shtetit, commonly called the Sigurimi, was the state security, intelligence and secret police service of the Socialist Peoples Republic of Albania. De jure its goal was protecting Albania from dangers, but de facto the Sigurimi served to suppress political activity in the population, in 2008 the Albanian parliament discussed opening the so-called “Sigurimi files”, but the Socialist Party of Albania contested it. The Sigurimi was established on 20 March 1943, enver Hoxha typically credited the Sigurimi as having been instrumental in his factions gaining power in Albania over other partisan groups. The Peoples Defense Division, formed in 1945 from Haxhi Lleshis most reliable resistance fighters, was the precursor to the Sigurimis 5, 000-strong uniformed internal security force. In 1989 the division was organized into five regiments of mechanized infantry that could be ordered to quell any domestic disturbances posing a threat to the Party of Labour of Albania leadership. The Sigurimi had an estimated 30,000 officers, approximately 7,500 of them assigned to the Peoples Army, the organization ceased to exist in name in July 1991 and was replaced by the National Informative Service. In early 1992, information on the organization, responsibilities, some Western observers believed, however, that many of the officers and leaders of the SHIK had served in the Sigurimi and that the basic structures of the two organizations were similar. The mission of the Sigurimi was to prevent counterrevolutions and to suppress opposition to the regime and its activities permeated Albanian society to the extent that every third citizen had either served time in labor camps or been interrogated by Sigurimi officers. Sigurimi personnel were generally career volunteers, recommended by loyal party members and they had an elite status and enjoyed many privileges designed to maintain their reliability and dedication to the party. The Sigurimi had a headquarters and district headquarters in each of Albanias twenty-six districts. It was further organized into sections covering political control, censorship, public records, prison camps, internal security troops, physical security, counterespionage, the political control sections primary function was monitoring the ideological correctness of party members and other citizens. One estimate indicated that at least 170 communist party Politburo or Central Committee members were executed as a result of the Sigurimis investigations, the political control section was also involved in an extensive program of monitoring private telephone conversations. The censorship section operated within the press, radio, newspapers, and other media as well as within cultural societies, schools. The public records section administered government documents and statistics, primarily social, the prison camps section was charged with the political reeducation of inmates and the evaluation of the degree to which they posed a danger to society. Local police supplied guards for fourteen prison camps throughout the country, the physical security section provided guards for important party and government officials and installations. The counterespionage section was responsible for neutralizing foreign intelligence operations in Albania as well as domestic movements, finally, the foreign intelligence section maintained personnel abroad and at home to obtain intelligence about foreign capabilities and intentions that affected Albanias national security. Its officers occupied cover positions in Albanias foreign diplomatic missions, trade offices, history of Albania Eastern Bloc politics Library of Congress Country Study of Albania – Data as of April 1992

Sigurimi
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Sigurimi

30.
KGB
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The KGB, an initialism for Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti, was the main security agency for the Soviet Union from 1954 until its break-up in 1991. Formed in 1954, as a successor of such preceding agencies as the Cheka, NKGB, and MGB. It was the government agency of union-republican jurisdiction, acting as internal security, intelligence. Similar agencies were constituted in each of the republics of the Soviet Union aside from Russia and consisted of ministries, state committees. The KGB was a service and was governed by army laws and regulations. While most of the KGB archives remain classified, two documentary sources are available. After the dissolution of the USSR, the KGB was split into the Federal Security Service, after breaking away from the Republic of Georgia in the early 1990s with Russian help, the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia established its own KGB. A1983 Time magazine article reported that the KGB was the worlds most effective information-gathering organization, at best, the compromised spy was either returned to the Soviet Union or was declared persona non grata and expelled by the government of the target country. The illegal resident spied, unprotected by diplomatic immunity, and worked independently of Soviet diplomatic, in its early history, the KGB valued illegal spies more than legal spies, because illegal spies infiltrated their targets with greater ease. The KGB classified its spies as agents and controllers, the false-identity or legend assumed by a USSR-born illegal spy was elaborate, using the life of either a live double or a dead double. In the 1980s, the glasnost liberalisation of Soviet society provoked KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov to lead the August 1991 Soviet coup détat attempt to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev, the thwarted coup détat ended the KGB on 6 November 1991. The KGBs successors are the police agency FSB and the espionage agency SVR. The GRU recruited the ideological agent Julian Wadleigh, who became a State Department diplomat in 1936, the NKVDs first US operation was establishing the legal residency of Boris Bazarov and the illegal residency of Iskhak Akhmerov in 1934. Throughout, the Communist Party USA and its General Secretary Earl Browder, helped NKVD recruit Americans, working in government, business, moreover, when Whittaker Chambers, formerly Alger Hisss courier, approached the Roosevelt Government—to identify the Soviet spies Duggan, White, and others—he was ignored. To wit, British Manhattan Project team physicist Klaus Fuchs was the agent of the Rosenberg spy ring. In 1944, the New York City residency infiltrated the top secret Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, by recruiting Theodore Hall, the KGB failed to rebuild most of its US illegal resident networks. The aftermath of the Second Red Scare and the crisis in the CPUSA hampered recruitment, the last major illegal resident, Rudolf Abel, was betrayed by his assistant, Reino Häyhänen, in 1957. One notable KGB success occurred in 1967, with the recruitment of US Navy Chief Warrant Officer John Anthony Walker

31.
ISAF
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From 2006 to 2011, ISAF had become increasingly involved in more intensive combat operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan. Troop contributors included the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, other NATO member states, the intensity of the combat faced by contributing nations varied greatly, with the United States sustaining the most casualties overall. In early 2010, there were at least 700 military bases inside Afghanistan, about 400 of these were used by American‑led NATO forces and 300 by ANSF. ISAF ceased combat operations and was disbanded in December 2014, with some troops remaining behind in a role as part of ISAFs successor organization. For almost two years, the ISAF mandate did not go beyond the boundaries of Kabul, according to General Norbert Van Heyst, such a deployment would require at least ten thousand additional soldiers. The responsibility for security throughout the whole of Afghanistan was to be given to the newly reconstituted Afghan National Army, however, on October 13,2003, the Security Council voted unanimously to expand the ISAF mission beyond Kabul with Resolution 1510. Shortly thereafter, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said that Canadian soldiers would not deploy outside Kabul, on October 24,2003, the German Bundestag voted to send German troops to the region of Kunduz. Approximately 230 additional soldiers were deployed to that region, marking the first time that ISAF soldiers operated outside of Kabul. On July 31,2006, the NATO‑led International Security Assistance Force assumed command of the south of the country, ISAF Stage 3, and by October 5, also of the east of Afghanistan, ISAF Stage 4. ISAF was mandated by UN Security Council Resolutions 1386,1413,1444,1510,1563,1623,1659,1707,1776, the last of these extended the mandate of ISAF to March 23,2011. The mandates given by the different governments to their forces varied from country to country and this meant that ISAF suffered from a lack of united aims. The initial ISAF headquarters was based on 3rd UK Mechanised Division and this force arrived in December,2001. Until ISAF expanded beyond Kabul, the force consisted of a roughly division-level headquarters and one covering the capital. The brigade was composed of three groups, and was in charge of the tactical command of deployed troops. ISAF headquarters served as the control center of the mission. Eighteen countries were contributors to the force in February,2002, Turkey assumed command of ISAF in June,2002. During this period, the number of Turkish troops increased from about 100 to 1,300, in November,2002, ISAF consisted of 4,650 troops from over 20 countries. Around 1,200 German troops served in the force alongside 250 Dutch soldiers operating as part of a German-led battalion, Turkey relinquished command in February,2003, and assumed command for a second time in February,2005

ISAF
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ISAF's military terminal at Kabul International Airport in September 2010.
ISAF
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Official logo of ISAF
ISAF
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Geographic depiction of the four ISAF stages (January 2009).
ISAF
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Anaconda Strategy vs the insurgents as of 2010-10-20.

32.
Operation Enduring Freedom
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Operation Enduring Freedom comprises several subordinate operations, Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, lasted from October 2001 to 31 December 2014. Government used the term Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan to officially describe the War in Afghanistan, continued operations in Afghanistan by the United States military forces, both non-combat and combat, now occur under the name Operation Freedoms Sentinel. In September 2001, U. S. President George W, the term OEF-A typically refers to the phase of the War in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. Other operations, such as the Georgia Train and Equip Program, are loosely or nominally connected. All the operations, however, have a focus on counterterrorism activities, Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, which was a joint U. S. U. K. and Afghan operation, was separate from the International Security Assistance Force, which was an operation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations including the U. S. and the U. K. The two operations ran in parallel, although it had suggested that they merge. S. and British ships. The initial military objectives of OEF-A, as articulated by President George W, of those groups included are Abu Sayyaf Group, al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah. The operation consisted of training the AFP in counter-terrorist operations as well as supporting the people with humanitarian aid in Operation Smiles. In October 2002, the Combined Task Force 150 and United States military Special Forces established themselves in Djibouti at Camp Lemonnier, the stated goals of the operation were to provide humanitarian aid and patrol the Horn of Africa to reduce the abilities of terrorist organizations in the region. The military aspect involves coalition forces searching and boarding ships entering the region for illegal cargo as well as providing training, the humanitarian aspect involves building schools, clinics and water wells to enforce the confidence of the local people. Since 2001, the expenditure by the U. S. government on Operation Enduring Freedom has exceeded $150 billion. The operation continues, with military direction mostly coming from United States Central Command, seizing upon a power vacuum after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan after their invasion, the Taliban assumed the role of government from 1996–2001. Their extreme interpretation of Islamic law prompted them to ban music, television, sports, and dancing, amputation was an accepted form of punishment for stealing, and public executions could often be seen at the Kabul football stadium. Womens rights groups around the world were frequently critical as the Taliban banned women from appearing in public or holding many jobs outside the home and they drew further criticism when they destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan, historical statues nearly 1500 years old, because the Buddhas were considered idols. In 1996, Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden moved to Afghanistan upon the invitation of the Northern Alliance leader Abdur Rabb ur Rasool Sayyaf, when the Taliban came to power, bin Laden was able to forge an alliance between the Taliban and his al-Qaeda organization. It is understood that al-Qaeda-trained fighters known as the 055 Brigade were integrated with the Taliban army between 1997 and 2001 and it has been suggested that the Taliban and bin Laden had very close connections. On 20 September 2001, the U. S. stated that Osama bin Laden was behind the 11 September attacks in 2001, the US made a five-point ultimatum to the Taliban, Deliver to the U. S

33.
Bunkers in Albania
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The concrete bunkers of Albania are a ubiquitous sight in the country, with an average of 5.7 bunkers for every square kilometre. The bunkers were built during the communist government of Enver Hoxha from the 1960s to the 1980s, Hoxhas programme of bunkerisation resulted in the construction of bunkers in every corner of the then Peoples Socialist Republic of Albania, ranging from mountain passes to city streets. They were never used for their intended purpose during the years that Hoxha governed, the cost of constructing them was a drain on Albanias resources, diverting them away from more pressing needs, such as dealing with the countrys housing shortage and poor roads. The bunkers were abandoned following the collapse of communism in 1990, most are now derelict, though some have been reused for a variety of purposes including residential accommodation, cafés, storehouses and shelters for animals or the homeless. A few briefly saw use in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, from the end of World War II to his death in April 1985, Enver Hoxha pursued a style of politics informed by hardline Stalinism as well as elements of Maoism. S. President Richard Nixons 1972 visit to China and his regime was also hostile towards the countrys immediate neighbours. A new constitution was introduced in 1976 that increased the Communist Partys control of the country, limited private property, the country sank into a decade of paranoid isolation and economic stagnation, virtually cut off from the outside world. Starting in 1967 and continuing until 1986, the Albanian government carried out a policy of bunkerisation that saw the construction of hundreds of thousands of bunkers across the country. They were built in every location, ranging from beaches and mountains, in vineyards and pastures, in villages and towns. Hoxha envisaged Albania fighting a two-front war against an attack mounted by Yugoslavia, Albanias military doctrine was based on a concept of peoples war drawing on the experience of the Albanian Partisans in World War II, which Hoxha had led. It was the only European country to have managed to liberate itself without the intervention of foreign troops, the Partisans victory was mythologised on a massive scale by the Hoxha regime, which used its wartime successes to legitimise its rule. The armed forces were based on the Partisan model and built around infantry units,75 percent of the forces and 97 percent of reservists were employed in infantry roles. The Partisans strategy was based around mountain-based guerrilla warfare, in which took refuge in the mountains. By contrast, Hoxha aimed to defend Albanias national integrity and sovereignty at all costs, the bunkers were therefore intended to establish defensive positions across the entirety of the country. Smaller ones were laid out in lines radiating out within sight of a command bunker. The commanders of the bunkers would communicate with their superiors by radio. The regime also sought intensively to militarize civilians,800,000 people out of a population of about three million served in defence in some way, ranging from the regular armed forces and reserves to civil defence and student armed youth units. From the age of three, Albanians were taught that they had to be vigilant for the enemy within and without, citizens were trained from the age of 12 to station themselves in the nearest bunker to repel invaders

Bunkers in Albania
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One of over 700,000 bunkers built in Albania during the rule of Enver Hoxha
Bunkers in Albania
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A bunker on a city street in Shkodër. The street's inhabitants would have been expected to defend it
Bunkers in Albania
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Bunkers were built in almost any place that could be defended—even in graveyards
Bunkers in Albania

34.
2008 Tirana explosions
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The methodical destruction of the old ammo was supposed to occur with a series of small, controlled explosions, but a chain of events led to the entire stockpile going up at once. A large fire caused a series of smaller but powerful explosions that continued until 2 a. m. on Sunday, the explosions could be heard as far away as the Macedonian capital of Skopje,170 km away. Thousands of artillery shells, most of them un-exploded, littered the area, the blast shattered all the windows of the terminal building at the countrys only international airport, and all flights were suspended for some 40 minutes. Some 4,000 inhabitants of the zone were evacuated and offered shelter in state-owned resorts, the Government declared the zone a disaster area. According to subsequent investigations, a privately managed ammo dismantling process was ongoing in the area, an error made by engineers who designed the machinery the demilitarisation company and associates employed on the project used. A fundamental design assumption made early in the process rendered the basic machinery potentially lethal. Researchers and designers of the ammunition disposal kilns assumed the combustible compounds within the ammunition would burn away at 350 degrees Celsius. Such an energy would, without sufficient and adequate designed machine components. SAC won the contract to destroy ammunition in Albania through industrial dismantling. SAC was contracted in 2006 by the Albanian Ministry of Defence for the deactivation of 100 million 7.62 mm bullets,20 million 12.7 mm bullets, a second contract involved ammunition from 40 mm up to 152 mm. After signing the contract with the MoD, SAC subcontracted the work to Alb-Demil, officially, Albanian authorities confirmed 26 deaths in the explosions. Officials report the number of injured people at over 300, according to figures published by the Prime Ministers Office,2,306 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the explosions. Of these,318 houses were destroyed completely,200 buildings were seriously damaged, on 17 March 2008, Mr. Fatmir Mediu, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Albania, resigned from his governmental position. As part of an investigation by the Albanian General Prosecution Office, authorities issued arrest orders for Mihail Delijorgji, Ylli Pinari, the investigation group was expected to publish the names of the officials involved in the tragedy by the beginning of April 2008. The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives accepted a request from the Albanian General Prosecutors Office to assist the investigation,2008 Chelopechene explosions BBC News, In pictures, Albania explosions Delijorgji, Patrick Henry is responsible -20.2.2012 Lawson, Guy. Arms and the Dudes, How Three Stoners from Miami Beach Became the Most Unlikely Gunrunners in History

2008 Tirana explosions
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Scene of the accident in April 2008

35.
Special Operations Battalion (Albania)
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The Special Operations Battalion, commonly known as BOS is the main special forces unit of the Albanian Armed Forces. It is the most elite unit of the Albanian Army, as well as being one of the best trained, the unit is tasked with special operations in wartime, and primarily with counter-terrorism in peacetime. The battalion is part of the Commando Regiment and its HQ, training facilities, the BOS members can be recognized by their maroon berets, and the unit insignia which is carried on the right sleeve of their uniforms. The Special Operations Battalion was created in 1999 as an answer to the regions geopolitical situation. During these two conflicts, BOS main tasks were reconnaissance and long-range patrol, in 2002, BOS operators were deployed in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. In Afghanistan, the first contingents operated under Turkish command and their tasks mainly dealt with patrolling the areas around Kabul, in 2004, Albania sent a unit from the Special Operations Battalion to Mosul as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The unit together with units from the Commando Regiment were responsible for base security. In July 2010, a detachment of 44 men from the BOS was deployed to Kandahar, differing from previous Albanian deployments, this detachment was directly involved in combat special operations. The unit worked closely with US military intelligence and was responsible for deep reconnaissance behind Taliban lines and this is the most decorated unit in AAF and its personnel is the best trained in Balkan Special Forces All members of the Albanian land forces can be considered for special forces training. After applying, the go through a 26-weeks selection process. This is called the Commando phase, in addition, the candidates have to go through marksmanship, navigation and physical endurance tests. During the last week of the process, the tests. The candidates that are able to pass the selection process, then go through a 14-week-long training process in which they learn survival skills, after that they undergo 4 weeks special operations and CQB course. For the final test, the candidates are left without food for 72 hours in a area of the country, their objective is to evade any possible pursuer. Colonel Dritan Demiraj, Commander 2007-2013 Medal of Honor 2014, Golden Eagle Medal 2011. albmilitary. com/index. php. topic=218.0

36.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously

37.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’

Switzerland
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Founded in 44 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, Augusta Raurica was the first Roman settlement on the Rhine and is now among the most important archaeological sites in Switzerland.
Switzerland
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Flag
Switzerland
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The 1291 Bundesbrief (Federal charter)
Switzerland
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The Old Swiss Confederacy from 1291 (dark green) to the sixteenth century (light green) and its associates (blue). In the other colors are shown the subject territories.

38.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949 and was ratified by the United States that August.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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Flag
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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The German Bundeswehr provided the largest element of the allied land forces guarding the frontier in Central Europe.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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Reforms made under Mikhail Gorbachev led to the end of the Warsaw Pact.

39.
Tanks
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A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat, with heavy firepower, strong armour, and tracks providing good battlefield maneuverability. The first tanks were designed to overcome the deadlock of trench warfare, now they are a mainstay of ground forces. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapon platforms, mounting a large-calibre cannon in a rotating gun turret. In both offensive and defensive roles, they are units that are capable of performing tasks which are required of armoured units on the battlefield. As a result of advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability in the years since their first appearance. Tanks in World War I were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and this was a prototype of a new design that would become the British Armys Mark I tank, the first tank used in combat in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The name tank was adopted by the British during the stages of their development. While the British and French built thousands of tanks in World War I, Germany was unconvinced of the tanks potential, Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the much larger and more powerful designs of World War II. Tanks in the Cold War were designed with these weapons in mind, improved engines, transmissions and suspensions allowed tanks of this period to grow larger. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design, during the Cold War, the main battle tank concept arose and became a key component of modern armies. Modern tanks seldom operate alone, as they are organized into combined arms units which involve the support of infantry and they are also usually supported by reconnaissance or ground-attack aircraft. The tank is the 20th century realization of an ancient concept, the internal combustion engine, armour plate, and continuous track were key innovations leading to the invention of the modern tank. Many sources imply that Leonardo da Vinci and H. G. Wells in some way foresaw or invented the tank, leonardos late 15th century drawings of what some describe as a tank show a man-powered, wheeled vehicle with cannons all around it. However the human crew would not have power to move it over larger distance. In the 15th century, Jan Žižka built armoured wagons containing cannons, the caterpillar track arose from attempts to improve the mobility of wheeled vehicles by spreading their weight, reducing ground pressure, and increasing their traction. Experiments can be traced back as far as the 17th century and it is frequently claimed that Richard Lovell Edgeworth created a caterpillar track. It is true that in 1770 he patented a machine, that should carry and lay down its own road and his own account in his autobiography is of a horse-drawn wooden carriage on eight retractable legs, capable of lifting itself over high walls. The description bears no similarity to a caterpillar track, armoured trains appeared in the mid-19th century, and various armoured steam and petrol-engined vehicles were also proposed

40.
Helicopters
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A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and these attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of VTOL aircraft cannot perform. English language nicknames for helicopter include chopper, copter, helo, heli, Helicopters were developed and built during the first half-century of flight, with the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 being the first operational helicopter in 1936. Some helicopters reached limited production, but it was not until 1942 that a helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky reached full-scale production, with 131 aircraft built. Though most earlier designs used more than one rotor, it is the single main rotor with anti-torque tail rotor configuration that has become the most common helicopter configuration. Tandem rotor helicopters are also in use due to their greater payload capacity. Coaxial helicopters, tiltrotor aircraft, and compound helicopters are all flying today, quadcopter helicopters pioneered as early as 1907 in France, and other types of multicopter have been developed for specialized applications such as unmanned drones. The earliest references for vertical flight came from China, since around 400 BC, Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys. This bamboo-copter is spun by rolling a stick attached to a rotor, the spinning creates lift, and the toy flies when released. The 4th-century AD Daoist book Baopuzi by Ge Hong reportedly describes some of the ideas inherent to rotary wing aircraft, designs similar to the Chinese helicopter toy appeared in Renaissance paintings and other works. In the 18th and early 19th centuries Western scientists developed flying machines based on the Chinese toy. It was not until the early 1480s, when Leonardo da Vinci created a design for a machine that could be described as an aerial screw, that any recorded advancement was made towards vertical flight. His notes suggested that he built flying models, but there were no indications for any provision to stop the rotor from making the craft rotate. As scientific knowledge increased and became accepted, people continued to pursue the idea of vertical flight. In July 1754, Russian Mikhail Lomonosov had developed a small coaxial modeled after the Chinese top but powered by a spring device. It was powered by a spring, and was suggested as a method to lift meteorological instruments. Sir George Cayley, influenced by a fascination with the Chinese flying top, developed a model of feathers, similar to that of Launoy and Bienvenu. By the end of the century, he had progressed to using sheets of tin for rotor blades and his writings on his experiments and models would become influential on future aviation pioneers

41.
Ammunition
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Ammunition is the general term used for the material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any weapon. The term ammunition can be traced back to the mid 17th century, broadly speaking, ammunition refers to both expendable weapons and the component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target. Nearly all weapons will require some form of ammunition to operate, the word comes from the French la munition, which refers to the material used for war. The terms ammunition and munitions are used interchangeably, although the term munition now usually refers to both the actual weapons system alongside the ammunition required to operate it. The purpose of ammunition is to project a force against a target to have an effect. The most iconic example of ammunition is the cartridge, which all components required to deliver the weapon effect in a single package. Ammunition comes in a range of sizes and types and is often designed to work only in specific weapons systems. However, there are internationally recognized standards for certain types that enable their use across different weapons. There are also types of ammunition that are designed to have a specialized effect on a target, such as armor-piercing shells and tracer ammunition. Ammunition is commonly colored in a manner to assist in the identification. A round is a cartridge containing a projectile, propellant, primer. A shell is a form of ammunition that is fired by a large cannon or artillery piece. Before the mid-19th century, these shells were made of solid materials. However, since that time, they are often filled with high-explosives. A shot refers to a release of a weapons system. This may involve firing just one round or piece of ammunition, a dud refers to loaded ammunition that fails to function as intended, typically failing to detonate on landing. However, it can refer to ammunition that fails to fire inside the weapon, known as a misfire, or when the ammunition only partially functions. Dud ammunition, which is classified as an ordnance, is regarded as highly dangerous

42.
George W. Bush
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George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was also the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and he is the eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election and he is the second president to assume the nations highest office after his father, following the lead of John Quincy Adams. He is also a brother of Jeb Bush, a former Governor of Florida who was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 presidential election, the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bushs first term as president. Bush responded with what became known as the Bush Doctrine, launching a War on Terror, a military campaign that included the war in Afghanistan in 2001. He also promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, Social Security reform and his tenure included national debates on immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and torture. In the 2004 Presidential race, Bush defeated Democratic Senator John Kerry in another close election. After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism from across the spectrum for his handling of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina. Amid this criticism, the Democratic Party regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections, Bush left office in 2009, returning to Texas where he purchased a home in Crawford. He wrote a memoir, Decision Points and his presidential library was opened in 2013. His presidency has been ranked among the worst in historians polls published in the late 2000s and 2010s. George Walker Bush was born on July 6,1946, at Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, as the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife, the former Barbara Pierce. He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, another younger sister, Robin, died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953. His grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U. S and his father, George H. W. Bush, was Ronald Reagans Vice President from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st U. S. President from 1989 to 1993. Bush has English and some German ancestry, along with more distant Dutch, Welsh, Irish, French, Bush attended public schools in Midland, Texas, until the family moved to Houston after he had completed seventh grade. He then spent two years at The Kinkaid School, a school in Houston. Bush attended high school at Phillips Academy, a school in Andover, Massachusetts

George W. Bush
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George W. Bush
George W. Bush
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Lt. George W. Bush while in the Texas Air National Guard
George W. Bush
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George W. Bush with his father outside the White House, April 29, 1992
George W. Bush
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Governor Bush (right) with father, former president George H. W. Bush and wife, Laura, in 1997

43.
Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction
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The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program is an initiative housed within the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The CTR program is known as the Nunn–Lugar Act based on the Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991 which was authored and cosponsored by Sens. Sam Nunn. According to the CTR website, the purpose of the CTR Program is to secure and dismantle weapons of mass destruction and their associated infrastructure in former Soviet Union states. Warheads were then destroyed in Russia, with the enriched uranium contained in them made into commercial reactor fuel which was purchased by the U. S. under a separate program. In recent years, the CTR program has expanded its mission from WMD at the source to protecting against WMD on the move by enhancing land. The FY2007 CTR Annual Report to Congress provides an update on the program as a whole. It also details future planned endeavors in each area, under CTR, the U. S. and recipient states have made considerable advancements in global security against the threat of WMD. S. The Pavlograd missile factory PMZ has converted to an advanced astronautics Space Clipper program, malys allegations were supported by an August,2000 DoD audit. The audit revealed that the funds original $67 million was then worth around $31 million, that mismanagement was widespread, DEF was eventually closed, with its entire $67M grant apparently lost. DEF originally claimed to have employed 3,370 former Soviet WMD scientists, Maly disputed this figure, claiming that no more than 200 of them could have been employed. After an article in Defense Week, the figure was reduced to 1,250, as an officer of DEF, Maly was required by his contract with the US government to report abuses. Indeed the contract had very substantial penalty provisions for failing to do so, and yet, Maly was fired, blacklisted, and his bank accounts were frozen worldwide for nine months, until the Defense Week article. Another aspect of DEF was that DEF was actually trying to strengthen Russian military capabilities with the US taxpayers money, for example, DEF was trying to build in Russia the most advanced microchip plant in the world. Shchuchye chemical weapons decommission plant In May 2009, Russia announced the opening of a facility to decommission its chemical weapons reserves. About one-third of the funding to build the plant, roughly $1 billion, was provided by CTR, in 2012, Russia declared that they would not extend the agreement. In June 2013, the United States and the Russian Federation signed a new framework on cooperative threat reduction intended to supersede the CTR. The new agreement is intended to reinforce the longstanding partnership on nonproliferation between these two nations and their activities in Russia and the Former Soviet Republics, joint security work at numerous Russian sites and facilities was cancelled effective Jan. Lugars website on the Nunn–Lugar Program, discusses disagreements between U. S. and Russian officials, which the authors argue is undermining cooperative threat reduction programs

Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction
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Senators Nunn and Lugar leave the White House in 1991 after briefing President George H. W. Bush on the Nunn–Lugar legislation
Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction
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Disassembling of a Soviet Oscar-class submarine in Severodvinsk, 1996

44.
Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel
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The Dutch shipbuilding firm The Damen Group, designs and manufactures a wide variety of vessels, including a range of related patrol vessels known generally as the Damen Stan Patrol Vessels. The Damen Stan patrol vessel designs include a four digit code. Over a dozen nations have classes of based on the Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel design. The United States Coast Guards Sentinel class cutters, based on the Damen Stan 4708 patrol vessel design, are 47 metres long and 8 metres wide. In the late 1990s three 41 patrol vessels were built for service in the Dutch Antilles, and experience with those vessels informed the later designs of the 4207 and 4708. Rather than design vessels that were strictly for use, the underlying Damen Stan patrol vessel designs do not include weapons. The designs have been adapted for constabulary duties, and for fishery, in recent years Damen has developed Damen Stan patrol vessels based on their Sea Axe bow design. The Stan 4207 design are 42.8 metres patrol vessels and they are 7.1 metres wide, and can travel at 22 knots. They are designed to carry a complement of approximately a dozen, the Stan 4708 are 46.8 metres long,8.11 metres wide, have a maximum speed of 23.8 knots, and carry a crew of 16-24. Vessels of this type have been supplied to, or ordered by a number of countries, as of December 2011 thirty five vessels had been built. Many of the agencies that employ these vessels have them delivered without armament and they are equipped with water cannon. Many of the agencies that employ these vessels specified they should be equipped with stern launching ramp, the vessels are equipped with a horizontal thruster in their bows, to aid maneuvering in tight conditions, such as mooring in crowded anchorages. The ship are well known for their sea handling capabilities and comfort, many are powered by Caterpillar engines. Damen Stan 2600 patrol vessel — a smaller class of vessels

45.
Romania
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Romania is a sovereign state located in Southeastern Europe. It borders the Black Sea, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia and it has an area of 238,391 square kilometres and a temperate-continental climate. With over 19 million inhabitants, the country is the member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city, Bucharest, is the sixth-largest city in the EU, the River Danube, Europes second-longest river, rises in Germany and flows in a general southeast direction for 2,857 km, coursing through ten countries before emptying into Romanias Danube Delta. The Carpathian Mountains, which cross Romania from the north to the southwest are marked by one of their tallest peaks, Moldoveanu, modern Romania was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877, at the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the sovereign Kingdom of Romania. Romania lost several territories, of which Northern Transylvania was regained after the war, following the war, Romania became a socialist republic and member of the Warsaw Pact. After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a transition towards democracy and it has been a member of NATO since 2004, and part of the European Union since 2007. A strong majority of the population identify themselves as Eastern Orthodox Christians and are speakers of Romanian. The cultural history of Romania is often referred to when dealing with artists, musicians, inventors. For similar reasons, Romania has been the subject of notable tourist attractions, Romania derives from the Latin romanus, meaning citizen of Rome. The first known use of the appellation was attested in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia, after the abolition of serfdom in 1746, the word rumân gradually fell out of use and the spelling stabilised to the form român. Tudor Vladimirescu, a leader of the early 19th century. The use of the name Romania to refer to the homeland of all Romanians—its modern-day meaning—was first documented in the early 19th century. The name has been officially in use since 11 December 1861, in English, the name of the country was formerly spelt Rumania or Roumania. Romania became the predominant spelling around 1975, Romania is also the official English-language spelling used by the Romanian government. The Neolithic-Age Cucuteni area in northeastern Romania was the region of the earliest European civilization. Evidence from this and other sites indicates that the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture extracted salt from salt-laden spring water through the process of briquetage

46.
Iraqi Freedom
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing

47.
MINURCAT
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Armed Sudanese rebel groups have continuously carried out attacks across the Sudanese border, endangering local residents and Darfurian refugees alike. Although the EUFOR Tchad/RCA was originally scheduled to deploy in November 2007 and it reached its Initial Operational Capability on 15 March 2008 and was replaced by UN forces under the same MINURCAT mandate on 15 March 2009. A further extension was done until the end of 2010. As of 2010, there were 300 police officers from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte dIvoire, Egypt, Finland, France, Guinea, Jordan, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Turkey and Yemen. The EU forces mission EUFOR Tchad/RCA operated under the auspices and in the framework of MINURCAT in Chad, the deployment of up to 3,700 troops began in February 2008. The EU operation commander, General Patrick Nash, announced on 5 November that this force will be 3,700 troops strong, the military operation was approved by the Council of the European Union on 15 October

MINURCAT
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United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad

48.
Country
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A country is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political geography. Sometimes the word countries is used to both to sovereign states and to other political entities, while other times it refers only to states. The word country comes from Old French contrée, itself derived from Vulgar Latin contrata and it most likely entered the English language after the Franco-Norman invasion during the 11th century. Areas much smaller than a state may be called by names such as the West Country in England, the Black Country, Constable Country. In many European countries the words are used for sub-divisions of the territory, as in the German Bundesländer. The modern Italian contrada is a word with its meaning varying locally, the term country is frequently used to refer to sovereign states. There is no agreement on the number of countries in the world. There are 206 sovereign states, of which 193 states are members of the United Nations, all are defined as states by declarative theory of statehood and constitutive theory of statehood. The latest proclaimed state is South Sudan in 2011, the Kingdom of Denmark, a sovereign state, comprises Metropolitan Denmark and two nominally separate countries—the Faroe Islands, and Greenland—which are almost fully internally self-governing. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, a state, comprises four separate countries, Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao. The degree of autonomy of non-sovereign countries varies widely, some are possessions of sovereign states, as several states have overseas territories, with citizenry at times identical and at times distinct from their own

49.
United Nations
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The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict, at its founding, the UN had 51 member states, there are now 193. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, the UNs mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization participated in actions in Korea and the Congo. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military, the UN has six principal organs, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Trusteeship Council. UN System agencies include the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, the UNs most prominent officer is the Secretary-General, an office held by Portuguese António Guterres since 2017. Non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UNs work, the organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, and a number of its officers and agencies have also been awarded the prize. Other evaluations of the UNs effectiveness have been mixed, some commentators believe the organization to be an important force for peace and human development, while others have called the organization ineffective, corrupt, or biased. Following the catastrophic loss of life in the First World War, the earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the US State Department in 1939. It incorporated Soviet suggestions, but left no role for France, four Policemen was coined to refer to four major Allied countries, United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and China, which emerged in the Declaration by United Nations. Roosevelt first coined the term United Nations to describe the Allied countries, the term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, by 1 March 1945,21 additional states had signed. Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto, the foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism. During the war, the United Nations became the term for the Allies. To join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis, at the later meetings, Lord Halifax deputized for Mr. Eden, Wellington Koo for T. V. Soong, and Mr Gromyko for Mr. Molotov. The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, the General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN, and the facility was completed in 1952. Its site—like UN headquarters buildings in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi—is designated as international territory, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie, was elected as the first UN Secretary-General

United Nations
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1943 sketch by Franklin Roosevelt of the United Nations' original three branches: The Four Policemen, an executive branch, and an international assembly of forty UN member states.
United Nations
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Flag
United Nations
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The Chilean delegation signing the UN Charter in San Francisco, 1945
United Nations
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Dag Hammarskjöld was a particularly active Secretary-General from 1953 until his death in 1961.

50.
United States Department of State
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The Department was created in 1789 and was the first executive department established. The Department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building located at 2201 C Street, NW, the Department operates the diplomatic missions of the United States abroad and is responsible for implementing the foreign policy of the United States and U. S. diplomacy efforts. The Department is also the depositary for more than 200 multilateral treaties, the Department is led by the Secretary of State, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of State is Rex Tillerson, beginning 1 February 2017, the Secretary of State is the first Cabinet official in the order of precedence and in the presidential line of succession, after the President pro tempore of the Senate. This legislation remains the law of the Department of State. In September 1789, additional legislation changed the name of the agency to the Department of State and these responsibilities grew to include management of the United States Mint, keeper of the Great Seal of the United States, and the taking of the census. President George Washington signed the new legislation on September 15, most of these domestic duties of the Department of State were eventually turned over to various new Federal departments and agencies that were established during the 19th century. On September 29,1789, President Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, then Minister to France, from 1790 to 1800, the State Department had its headquarters in Philadelphia, the capital of the United States at the time. It occupied a building at Church and Fifth Streets, in 1800, it moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D. C. where it first occupied the Treasury Building and then the Seven Buildings at 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. It moved into the Six Buildings in September 1800, where it remained until May 1801 and it moved into the War Office Building due west of the White House in May 1801. It occupied the Treasury Building from September 1819 to November 1866 and it then occupied the Washington City Orphan Home from November 1866 to July 1875. It moved to the State, War, and Navy Building in 1875, since May 1947, it has occupied the Harry S. Truman Building in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, the State Department is therefore sometimes metonymically referred to as Foggy Bottom. Madeleine Albright became the first woman to become the United States Secretary of State, condoleezza Rice became the second female secretary of state in 2005. Hillary Rodham Clinton became the female secretary of state when she was appointed in 2009. In 2014, the State Department began expanding into the Navy Hill Complex across 23rd Street NW from the Truman Building, the Executive Branch and the U. S. Congress have constitutional responsibilities for U. S. foreign policy. Within the Executive Branch, the Department of State is the lead U. S, the Department advances U. S. objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the Presidents foreign policy. It also provides an array of important services to U. S. citizens, the total Department of State budget, together with Other International Programs, costs about 45 cents a day for each resident of the United States. Keeping the public informed about U. S. foreign policy and relations with other countries, providing automobile registration for non-diplomatic staff vehicles and the vehicles of diplomats of foreign countries having diplomatic immunity in the United States

United States Department of State
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Harry S Truman Building, headquarters of the U.S. State Department since 1947
United States Department of State
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Seal of the U.S. Department of State
United States Department of State
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Secretary of State John Kerry
United States Department of State
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Organizational chart of the U.S. Department of State as of March 2014

51.
Science Insider
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Science, also widely referred to as Science Magazine, is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and one of the worlds top academic journals. It was first published in 1880, is circulated weekly and has a print subscriber base of around 130,000. Because institutional subscriptions and online access serve an audience, its estimated readership is 570,400 people. Unlike most scientific journals, which focus on a field, Science. According to the Journal Citation Reports, Sciences 2015 impact factor was 34.661, although it is the journal of the AAAS, membership in the AAAS is not required to publish in Science. Papers are accepted from authors around the world, competition to publish in Science is very intense, as an article published in such a highly cited journal can lead to attention and career advancement for the authors. Fewer than 7% of articles submitted are accepted for publication, Science is based in Washington, D. C. United States, with an office in Cambridge, England. Science was founded by New York journalist John Michels in 1880 with financial support from Thomas Edison, however, the journal never gained enough subscribers to succeed and ended publication in March 1882. Entomologist Samuel H. Scudder resurrected the journal one year later and had some success while covering the meetings of prominent American scientific societies, however, by 1894, Science was again in financial difficulty and was sold to psychologist James McKeen Cattell for $500. In an agreement worked out by Cattell and AAAS secretary Leland O. Howard, after Cattell died in 1944, the ownership of the journal was transferred to the AAAS. After Cattells death in 1944, the journal lacked a consistent editorial presence until Graham DuShane became editor in 1956. In 1958, under DuShanes leadership, Science absorbed The Scientific Monthly, physicist Philip Abelson, a co-discoverer of neptunium, served as editor from 1962 to 1984. Under Abelson the efficiency of the process was improved and the publication practices were brought up to date. During this time, papers on the Apollo program missions and some of the earliest reports on AIDS were published, biochemist Daniel E. Koshland, Jr. served as editor from 1985 until 1995. From 1995 until 2000, neuroscientist Floyd E. Bloom held that position, biologist Donald Kennedy became the editor of Science in 2000. Biochemist Bruce Alberts took his place in March 2008, geophysicist Marcia McNutt became editor-in-chief in June 2013. During her tenure the family of journals expanded to include Science Robotics and Science Immunology, jeremy M. Berg became editor-in-chief on July 1,2016

52.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network

Wayback Machine
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Wayback Machine

53.
Kingdom of Albania (medieval)
–
The Kingdom of Albania was established by Charles of Anjou in the Albanian territories he conquered from the Byzantine Empire in 1271. The Kingdom of Albania was declared in late February 1272, the kingdom extended from the region of Durazzo south along the coast to Butrint. A major attempt to further in direction of Constantinople failed at the Siege of Berat. A Byzantine counteroffensive soon ensued, which drove the Angevins out of the interior by 1281, the Sicilian Vespers further weakened the position of Charles, and the Kingdom was soon reduced by the Byzantines to a small area around Durazzo. The Angevins held out here, however, until 1368, when the city was captured by Karl Thopia, in 1392 Karl Thopias son surrendered the city and his domains to the Republic of Venice. During the conflict between the Despotate of Epirus and the Empire of Nicaea in 1253, lord Golem of Kruja was initially allied with Epirus, Golems troops had occupied the Kostur area trying to prevent the Nicaean forces of John Vatatzes from entering Devoll. Vatatzes managed to convince Golem to switch sides and a new treaty was signed between the parties where Vatatzes promised to guarantee Golems autonomy, the same year Despot of Epirus Michael II signed a peace treaty with Nicaea acknowledging their authority over west Macedonia and Albania. The fortress of Krujë was surrendered to Nicaea, while the Nicean emperor acknowledged the old privileges, the same privileges were confirmed later by his successor Theodore II Laskaris. The Nicaeans took control of Durrës from Michael II in 1256, during the winter of 1256–57, George Akropolites tried to reinstall Byzantine authority in the area of Arbanon. Autonomy was thus banished and a new administration was imposed and this was in contrast to what the Nicaeans had promised before. The local Albanian leaders revolted and on hearing the news, Michael II also denounced the treaty with the Nicaea. With the support of Albanian forces he attacked the cities of Dibra, Ohrid, in the meantime Manfred of Sicily profited from the situation and launched an invasion into Albania. His forces, led by Philip Chinardi, captured Durrës, Berat, Vlorë, Spinarizza and their surroundings, facing a war in two fronts, despot Michael II came to terms with Manfred and became his ally. He recognized Manfreds authority over the regions which were ceded as a dowry gift following the marriage of his daughter Helena to Manfred. However, in September 1261, Manfred organized a new expedition and managed to capture all his dominions in Albania, Manfred respected the old autonomy and privileges of the local nobility and their regions. He also integrated Albanian nobles into his administration, as was the case with Andrea Vrana who was the captain and governor of Durrës. Albanian troops were used by Manfred in his campaigns in Italy. Manfred appointed Philippe Chinard as the general-governor of his dominions in Albania, initially based in Corfu, Chinard moved his headquarters to Kanina, the dominant center of the Vlorë region

Kingdom of Albania (medieval)
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Statue of Charles I of Naples at the Royal Palace. Charles established Regnum Albaniae after he conquered part the Despotate of Epirus.
Kingdom of Albania (medieval)
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Kingdom of Albania at its maximum extent
Kingdom of Albania (medieval)
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The entrance of the citadel of Berat, with the 13th-century Byzantine church of the Holy Trinity.

54.
Despotate of Arta
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Not to be confused with the Despotate of Epirus. The Despotate of Arta was a despotate established by Albanian rulers during the 14th century, in the late spring of 1359, Nikephoros II Orsini, the last despot of Epirus of the Orsini dynasty, fought against the Albanians near river Acheloos, Aetolia. The Albanians won the battle and managed to create two new states in the territories of the Despotate of Epirus. The two Albanian lead states were, the first with its capital in Arta was under the Albanian nobleman Peter Losha, after the death of Peter Losha in 1374, the Albanian despotates of Arta and Angelocastron were united under the rule of Gjin Bua Spata. At April 1378 the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, Juan Fernández de Heredia set about to take Arta, herendia was sold by Spata to the Ottoman Turks for a huge prize. Thomas II Preljubović, the Despot of Epirus offered valuable help during the battle, the Despotate of Epirus managed to control in this period only the eastern part of Epirus, with its capital in Ioannina. During this period the Despot of Epirus Thomas II Preljubović was in a conflict with Gjin Spata. In 1375, Gjin Bua Spata started an offensive in Ioannina, although Spata married with Thomas sister, Helena, their war did not stop. After the death of Gjin Bua Spata in 1399, the Despotate of Arta weakened continuously, among the animosities with the rulers of Ioannina Gjin’s successor, Maurice Spata, had to deal with the intentions of the Venetians and of Count Carlo I Tocco of Cefalonia. Meanwhile, Ottoman incursions were intensified as they were called by despot Esau de Buondelmonti of the Despotate of Epirus. After the death of de Buondelmonti in 1411, the throne was offered to his nephew, even though his gain was accompanied by a great loss that the forces of John Zenevisi’s inflicted upon his army, he would later subject the leaders of southern Albania. In spite of Maurices victory over Carlo in 1412, the Albanians failed to take Ioannina, on the contrary, not long after killing Maurice in battle in 1414/5, Carlo advanced on Arta. In 1416, he defeated Yaqub Spata and conquered Arta thus annexing the Despotate, the city of Arta was relatively unknown during the period of the Albanian rule. The Albanian leaders, not accustomed to living in cities, as mountaineers, acquired legally Byzantine titles, although no architectural activity has been reported for this period, little seems to have changed in Arta and the Albanian and Greek population coexisted peacefully in the city. Peter Losha Gjin Bua Spata Sgouros Spata Maurice Spata Yaqub Spata Albanian principalities History of Albania

Despotate of Arta
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Map of the Despotate of Arta

55.
League of Prizren
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The treaties of San Stefano and later Treaty of Berlin both assigned areas that were also inhabited by Albanians to other states. The league was established at the meeting of 47 Ottoman beys in Prizren in June 10,1878, an initial position of the league was presented in the document known as Kararname. The 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War dealt a blow to Ottoman power in the Balkan Peninsula, leaving the empire with only a precarious hold on Albania. The Albanians fear that the lands they inhabited would be partitioned among Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, the first postwar treaty, the abortive Treaty of San Stefano signed on 3 March 1878, assigned areas claimed by the League of Prizren to Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. Austria-Hungary and the United Kingdom blocked the arrangement because it awarded Russia a predominant position in the Balkans, a peace conference to settle the dispute was held later in the year in Berlin. Overall situation influence Albanians to organize themselves in the Local Counsels for National Salvation with aim to protect the ethnic lands, by the end of 1877 the issue of defense of territorial integrity became very difficult. On 13 December 1877, Serbians declared war on Ottoman Empire and they were supported by Russian Army and spread their attacks on the northern parts of Albania. Albanians were unable to defend several regions and cities in the northeast and northwest of Albania, upon occupation of these lands, the Ottoman administrators fled the freed territories and/or were expelled. These events influenced the Local Councils for the National Salvation to merge in a single coordination body, Albanians, on December 12,1877 established in Istanbul the Central Committee for the Defense of Rights of the Albanian Nation. The Treaty of San Stefano triggered profound anxiety among the Albanians and Bosnians meanwhile, in May the group called for a general meeting of representatives from all the areas that existed Albanian communities that time. The Committees members were Ali Ibra, Zija Prishtina, Sami Frashëri, Jani Vreto, Pashko Vasa, Baca Kurti Gjokaj, during the meeting in Prizren a kararname was signed by 47 beys in June 18,1878. The document represents a position, mainly supported by landlords. Article 6 of the document restates the hostility of Albanians, as Ottoman loyalists. We should not allow foreign armies to tread on our land and we should not recognize Bulgarias name. If Serbia does not leave peacefully the illegally occupied countries, we should send bashibazouks and strive until the end to liberate these regions, including Montenegro. It was not an appeal for Albanian independence, or even autonomy within Ottoman Empire but, as proposed by Pashko Vasa, the participants wanted to return to the status quo before the start of Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The main aim was to defend from immediate dangers, soon that position changed radically and resulted in demands of autonomy and open war against the Ottoman Empire as formulated by Abdyl Frashëri. The memorandum was ignored by the congress, which recognised the claims of Serbia and Bulgaria to territories surrendered by the Ottoman Empire

League of Prizren
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Balkans ethnographic map of 1861
League of Prizren
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The four Ottoman vilayets clearly divided (vilayet of İşkodra, Yannina, Monastir and Kosovo as proposed by the League of Prizren for full autonomy)
League of Prizren
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Abdyl bey Frasheri, The League movement's leading figure.
League of Prizren
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Group photo of some of the delegates.

56.
Albanian revolt of 1910
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The Albanian revolt of 1910 was reaction to the new centralization policies of the Young Turk Ottoman government in Albania. It was the first of a series of major uprisings, rebels were supported by the Kingdom of Serbia. After two weeks of fighting the Albanian forces withdrew to the Drenica region, whereas the Ottoman army took possession of the cities of Prizren. The Ottomans retook İpek on 1 June 1910 and two later they entered Shkodër. The reprisals against the Albanian population included several summary executions, many schools were closed, and publications in the Albanian alphabet, which had been approved two years earlier, in the Congress of Monastir, were declared illegal. Journalists and publishers were fined or sentenced to death, in the meantime the new governor, Masar Bey, introduced a new tax on commodities, which immediately became highly unpopular. Albanian leaders held two meetings in İpek and Ferizoviç, where they took the oath of besa to be united against the new Ottoman government policy of centralization. Forces led by Isa Boletini attacked the Ottoman forces in Pristina and Ferizoviç, the Ottoman government declared martial law and sent a military expedition of 16,000 men led by Shefqet Turgut Pasha who went to Skopje in April 1910. At the same time 3,000 Albanians under Idriz Seferi blocked the railway to Skopje at the Kaçanik Pass and they captured a train conveying soldiers and military supplies to the Ottoman garrison of Pristina, disarmed the soldiers and held the supplies. Superior in numbers, the Ottoman forces tried at first a frontal attack and they made a pincer movement, trying to encircle the Albanian forces in Carralevo pass. After three days of fighting the Albanian forces withdrew to the Drenica region, Ottoman forces entered Prizren in the middle of May 1910. They proceeded to Yakova and İpek where they entered on June 1,1910, by government orders part of the force proceeded in the direction of Scutari, while another column marched toward the Debre region. Ottoman forces were stopped for more than 20 days in the Agri Pass, from the Albanian forces of Shalë, Shoshë, Nikaj and Mërtur areas, led by Prel Tuli, Mehmet Shpendi, and Marash Delia. Unable to repress their resistance, this column took another way to Scutari, on July 24,1910, Ottoman forces entered the city of Scutari. During this period martial courts were put in action and summary executions took place, a large number of firearms were collected and many villages and properties were burned by the Ottoman army. The Ottoman army, made up of irregular Kurds, flogged the leaders in public, burnt villages, and drove some 150,000 from their homes, two thirds being Serbs. Although the numbers of the Ottoman forces were now up to 50,000, they controlled only the lowlands and the cities, and failed to take control of the mountainous regions. At the request of the Ottoman commander Mehmet Shefqet Pasha, the Ottoman government declared the abrogation of the Lekë Dukagjini Code which was the law of the Albanian clans

Albanian revolt of 1910
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Isa Boletini, one of the leaders of the revolt.
Albanian revolt of 1910
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Idriz Seferi, one of the leaders of the rebellion.

57.
Independent Albania
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Its assembly was constituted on the same day while its government and senate were established on 4 December 1912. The delegation of Albania submitted a memorandum to the London Conference of 1913 requesting the recognition of independent Albania. At the beginning of the conference it was decided that the region of Albania would be under Ottoman suzerainty, the ambassadors of six Great Powers met again on 29 July 1913 and decided to constitute a new state, the Principality of Albania, as a constitutional monarchy. Finally, with the Treaty of Bucharest being signed in August 1913, the name of the state used in the text of declaration of independence of Albania is Shqipëria. It is also referred to as the independent Albania, the Albanian State or the independent state of Albania, the independent Albania established on 28 November 1912 is the first Albanian state in modern history. It was a state, not a monarchy. Some sources refer to it as the Republic of Albania or the Albanian Republic, the claimed territory was much larger than the territory of contemporary Albania and than the territory over which the Provisional Government exercised its power. It comprised the territories of Kosovo Vilayet, Monastir Vilayet, Shkoder Vilayet, Kosovo was returned to Serbias possession at the London treaty, at the insistence of Russia. Independent Albania did however exercise control over one pocket of land which included Vlore, Berat, Fier, until September 1912, the Ottoman government intentionally kept Albanians divided within four ethnically heterogeneous vilayets to prevent Albanian national unification. The reforms introduced by Young Turks provoked the Albanian Revolt of 1912 which lasted in the period from January to August 1912. In January 1912, Hasan Prishtina, Albanian deputy in Ottoman parliament, the revolt was successful and until August 1912 rebels managed to gain control over whole Kosovo vilayet, a part of the Scutari Vilayet, Konitsa in Janina Vilayet and Debar in Monastir Vilayet. The success of the Albanian revolt sent a signal to the neighboring countries that the Ottoman Empire was weak. Besides, the Kingdom of Serbia opposed the plan for an Albanian vilayet, in the meantime the conquered territory was agreed to have status of the Condominium. Albanian leaders, including Faik Konica and Fan Noli, organized a meeting on 7 October 1913 in Boston. They decided that Albanians should unite fully with the Ottoman government against enemies of the Empire because if Turkey is defeated, Albanians who were mobilized in Ottoman army fought for their country rather than for the Ottoman Empire. During the First Balkan War the combined armies of the Balkan allies overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies, and achieved rapid success. Ismail Qemali, who had been an Albanian deputy in the Ottoman parliament, secured the support of Austria-Hungary for autonomy of Albania within the Ottoman Empire, but not for the independence. Ismail Qemali invited the representatives of all parts of Albanian Vilayet to attend the All-Albanian Congress held in Vlorë on November 28,1912

Independent Albania
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Albanian rebels capturing Skopje in August 1912
Independent Albania
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Flag
Independent Albania
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Participants of the congress in Trieste
Independent Albania
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Ismail Qemali and his cabinet during the celebration of the first anniversary of independence in Vlorë on 28 November 1913.

58.
Republic of Central Albania
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The Republic of Central Albania was a short-lived unrecognised state established on October 16,1913 with its administrative centre in Durrës, today in Albania. The territory of the state was bounded by the river Mat in the North, the flag of the Republic of Central Albania was red with white star in lower right part. The Republic of Central Albania issued its own post stamps, faik Konica initially gave his support to the government of Essad Pasha. The most important role in establishing the Republic of Central Albania had Essad Pasha Toptani, during the First Balkan War, he became famous for his resistance during the Siege of Scutari. He was a member of the Toptani family, one of many families that were rich feudal Muslim landowners with privileged status during Ottoman rule, the Kingdom of Serbia agreed to support Essad Pashas government financially, and even with military force if needed. In exchange, Essad Pasha agreed to neutralize a large group of about 20,000 kachaks from Kosovo and they were led by Isa Boletini and supported by Ismail Qemali and his Provisional Government of Albania. Essad Pasha agreed to help the Kingdom of Serbia acquire part of the areas north of Black Drin. Young Turks from Istanbul were still hoping to restore Ottoman suzerainty over Albania and those activities resulted in an attempt to declare Ahmed İzzet Pasha, then minister of defence of the Ottoman Empire, first prince of Principality of Albania. Ahmed İzzet Pasha was to prevent those landowners from achieving privileged status with the help of several hundred Ottoman soldiers sent to Albania and they were all arrested by Dutch gendarmerie on January 8,1914, when they tried to disembark in Albania. The incident was officially denied by the government in Istanbul, izzet Pasha sent major Beqir Grebenali, another ethnic Albanian, to be one of his chief representatives in Albania. The Provisional Government of Albania under control of Ismail Qemali captured and executed major Beqir Grebenali, such provocative and damaging display of independence of Qemalis government angered Great Powers and International Commission of Control forced Qemali to step aside and leave Albania. This government was established by a group of Albanians led by Ismail Qemali, since the First Balkan War started before this agreement was confirmed in the assembly of the Ottoman Empire, this united Albanian vilayet remained officially unrecognized. Its independence was declared on November 28,1912 by a group of Albanians that Qemali had gathered from all four Ottoman vilayets together with four men, Albanians of Romania. In his work, Memorandum on Albania, Essad Pasha Toptani denied that Qemalis government was legitimate and these Catholics were reluctant to submit to any of the two national governments, just as they were reluctant to surrender to the Porte. Thus, after the Balkan Wars and before prince Wilhelm of Wied took control of the newly established Principality of Albania on March 7,1914, Albania was divided into three parts. Jacques The Albanians, a history, By Miranda Vickers Newspapers news about attempt of to accept call from Muslim landowners in Albania for throne of the province

59.
Principality of Albania
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Albania had been under Ottoman rule from around 1478. The Great Powers recognized the independence of Albania in the Treaty of London in May 1913, the Great Powers selected Prince William of Wied, a nephew of Queen Elisabeth of Romania to become the sovereign of the newly independent Albania. A formal offer was made by 18 Albanian delegates representing the 18 districts of Albania on February 21,1914, outside of Albania William was styled prince, but in Albania he was referred to as Mbret so as not to seem inferior to the King of Montenegro. Prince William arrived in Albania at his capital of Durrës on March 7,1914 along with the Royal family. The security of Albania was to be provided by an International Gendarmerie commanded by Dutch officers, William never renounced his claim to the throne. World War I interrupted all government activities in Albania, and the country was split into a number of regional governments, political chaos engulfed Albania after the outbreak of World War I. Surrounded by insurgents in Durrës, Prince William departed the country in September 1914, just six months after arriving, the Albanian people split along religious and tribal lines after the princes departure. Muslims demanded a Muslim prince and looked to Ottomon Empire as the protector of the privileges they had enjoyed, hence many beys and clan chiefs, in late October 1914, Greek forces entered Albania in the Protocol of Corfus recognized Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus. Italy occupied Vlorë, and Serbia and Montenegro occupied parts of northern Albania until a Central Powers offensive scattered the Serbian army, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian forces then occupied about two-thirds of the country. Serbia and Montenegro were promised much of northern Albania, and Greece was promised much of the southern half. The treaty was to leave a tiny Albanian state that would be represented by Italy in its relations with the major powers. In September 1918, the Entente forces broke through the Central Powers lines north of Thessaloniki, Albanias political confusion continued in the wake of World War I. Italian forces controlled Albanian political activity in the areas they occupied, the Serbs, who largely dictated Yugoslavias foreign policy after World War I, strove to take over northern Albania, and the Greeks sought to control southern Albania. Serbian troops conducted actions in Albanian-populated border areas, while Albanian guerrillas operated in both Serbia and Montenegro, the deal was done behind the Albanians backs and in the absence of a United States negotiator. The Lushnjë National Assembly appointed a regency to rule the country. A bicameral parliament was created, in which an elected lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies, appointed members of its own ranks to an upper chamber. In February 1920, the government moved to Tirana, which became Albanias capital, one month later, in March 1920, U. S. President Woodrow Wilson intervened to block the Paris agreement. The countrys borders, however, remained unsettled, Albanias new government campaigned to end Italys occupation of the country and encouraged peasants to harass Italian forces

60.
Italian protectorate over Albania
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The Italian protectorate over Albania was established by the Kingdom of Italy during World War I in an effort to secure a de jure independent Albania under Italian control. It existed from June 23,1917 until the summer of 1920, the Kingdom of Italy occupied the port of Vlorë on December 1914, but had to withdraw after the Austrian-Hungarian invasion in late 1915 - early 1916, and the fall of Durrës on 27 February 1916. On December 12,1916, Italy asked for explanations from the Quai dOrsay, through its ambassador, austria-Hungary used French precedent in Korçë to justify the proclamation of independence of Albania under its protectorate on January 3,1917 in Shkodra. The Kingdom of Italy did the same when proclaiming independence of Albania under its protectorate on June 23,1917 in Gjirokastra, general Ferrero proclaimed on that day the Italian Protectorate and the next weeks occupied Ioannina in Epirus. Neither Great Britain nor France had been consulted beforehand, and they did not give any official recognition to the Italian Protectorate, on September 25 the Italian 35 Division reached and occupied Krusevo deep inside western Macedonia. In November 1918, when World War I finished, nearly all what is now contemporary Albania was under the Italian Protectorate, the deal was done behind the Albanians backs and in the absence of a United States negotiator. The revolutionary movements in Italy made the presence of the last 20,000 soldiers of the Italian Army in Albania basically impossible, on August 2,1920 the Albanian-Italian protocol was signed, upon which Italy retreated from Albania. This put an end to Italian claims for Vlora and for a mandate over Albania, la strategia politico-militare dellItalia in Albania fino allOperazione Oltre Mare Tirana. Albania, fronte dimenticato della Grande guerra, portogruaro,2001 ISBN 88-85318-61-4 Bushkoff, Leonard. Oxford,2001 ISBN 1-84176-194-X Pearson, Owens, Albania in the twentieth century, a history. London,2004 ISBN 1-84511-013-7 Steiner, Zara, the lights that failed, European international history, 1919-1933. Stanford,1929 ISBN 0-8047-6171-X Italian Army in Albania in 1916 &1917 Italian Army in Albania in 1918

Italian protectorate over Albania
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Italian soldiers in Vlorë, Albania, during World War I. The tricolour flag of Italy bearing the Savoy royal shield is shown hanging alongside an Albanian flag from the balcony of the Italian prefecture headquarters.
Italian protectorate over Albania
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Flag
Italian protectorate over Albania
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1917 postcard from Italian-occupied Sarande.

61.
Vlora War
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The Vlora War or the War of 1920 was a series of battles between Italian forces garrisoned throughout the Vlorë region and Albanian nationalists divided into small groups of fighters. The Vlora War is seen as a point in the establishment of the Albanian independence. The southern coast of Albania, from the frontier of the Italian territory of Valona to Cape Stilos, is to be neutrazied. In 1920 in the Paris Peace Conference the allies had still reached no decision on Albanias future, Italian Prime Minister Nitti had also hoped to obtain a mandate over the rest of the country according to the Secret Treaty of London. The war started on June 4, after the Italian general Settimo Piacentini refused to hand over the Vlora district to the Albanian government, in the meantime, Italy had 20,000 well-armed soldiers in the area. The advance of the Albanian troops, and the movements in Italy made the reinforcements basically impossible. On August 2,1920 the Albanian-Italian protocol was signed, upon which Italy would retreat from Albania and this gave an end to Italian claims for Vlora and a mandate over Albania, rescuing the territory of the Albanian state from further partition. A cease-fire was announced on August 5, ending all Italo-Albanian hostilities, the Albanian resistance even had their own military band, called Banda e Vatrës formed in the United States. This band travelled 23 days by boat to go from the States to Durrës, Ç’është kështu që dëgjojmë vaj medet o Vlora jonë italianët po zbarkojnë me pampor e me ballonë jo mor jo nuk e durojmë. Ngrihi shokë të sulmojmë Vlorën tonë ta çlirojmë, what is this that we hear Alas, oh our Vlora, The Italians are landing With trains and parachutes, Not taken, no we wont endure it. Stand up friends, to attack To liberate our Vlora, after three months of warfare an armistice treaty was signed between Italian and Albanian government. This treaty was the first diplomatic pact between Albania and a foreign power, Albania had used all its influence to obtain full and unreserved recognition by the Western Powers of the independence of Albania within 1913 frontier. Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH Fjalori Enciklopedik Shqiptar, Tirana,1985, shqiptarët, Historia e popullit shqiptar nga lashtësia deri në ditët e sotme. Albania in the Twentieth Century, A History

Vlora War
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Clockwise from top: Italian base; Albanian soldiers; Italian cannons captured by Albanian irregulars during one of the battles
Vlora War
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Italian cannons captured by Albanian irregulars during one of the battles

62.
Albanian Republic
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The Albanian Republic was the official name of Albania as enshrined in the Constitution of 1925. Albania became a de facto protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy after the signing of the Treaties of Tirana of 1926 and 1927, Albania was declared a constitutional monarchy in 1928. Upon its inception, Italy demanded to be allies with the republic and this was done largely to increase Italys influence in the Balkans, and to aid Italian and Albanian security in their territorial feuds with Greece and Yugoslavia. After defeating Fan Nolis government, Ahmet Zogu recalled parliament in order to find a solution for the principality of Albania. The new constitution provided for a republic, with a powerful president serving as head of state. On January 31,1925, Zogu was elected president for a term of seven years by the National Assembly and he ruled Albania using four military governors, and appointed clan chieftains as reserve army officers who were kept on call to protect the regime against domestic or foreign threats. He also maintained relations with Benito Mussolinis fascist regime in Italy. The Zog regime was said to be responsible for the disappearance of opposition parties, the press was also strictly censored during the regime. In early 1925, a series of focused on the economy were initiated. Some of the reforms included organizing private initiatives in industry, construction and that same year, the first Albanian coin, the Albanian Gold Franga, was minted. Foreign capital was introduced as a part of the policy of the government of Zog I, but the aim of his regime was actually to strengthen personal power. The foreign capital, loans and other forms, was used as a tool to provide income for the regime, and was later used for overcoming economic crises. Fourteen new societies were created at about time, with an initial capital of 7.6 million gold francs. In 1928, the number of enterprises reached 127, and domestic capital was six times greater than in 1927, in 1925, the Albanian National Bank was created, and was awarded concessions to Italian investors. The Albanian state had a 49% share of the bank, while Italy had a 51% share, under these conditions Italy gained a stronger position in Albania. During the 1925-1928 period, the Albanian government also increased its costs. In 1925, the SVEA society was established, helping to facilitate a loan to Albania worth 50 million gold francs, in 1927, the loan was estimated at 65 million gold francs. Annual interest for this 40-year loan was 7. 5%, repayment amounts consisted of 30%-40% of the entire countrys income

63.
Accession of Albania to the European Union
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The Republic of Albania is an official candidate for accession to the European Union since June 2014. Officially recognised by the EU as a candidate country in 2000. This was successfully agreed and signed on 12 June 2006, thus completing the first major step toward Albanias full membership in the EU, Albania applied for European Union membership on 28 April 2009. Following the steps of countries joining the EU in 2004, Albania has been engaged with EU institutions. On 16 December 2009, the European Commission submitted the Questionnaire on accession preparation to the Albanian government, Albania returned answers to them on 14 April 2010. On 5 December 2013, an MEP meeting recommended to the Council to grant Albania candidate status without undue delay. On 23 June 2014, under the Greek EU Presidency, the Council of the European Union agreed to grant Albania candidate status, in 1992 a Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the EU and Albania was signed, and Albania became eligible for funding under the EU Phare programme. In 1997 the EU Council of Ministers established political and economic conditionality for the development of relations between Albania and the EU. In 1999 the EU proposed the new Stabilisation and Association Process for five countries of Southeastern Europe, starting from 1999 Albania benefited from Autonomous Trade Preferences with the EU. In year 2000 duty-free access to EU market was granted for products from Albania, in June 2000, during the European Council stated that all the SAP countries are potential candidates for EU membership. In November 2000, at the Zagreb Summit, the SAP was officially endorsed by the EU,2001 was the first year of the new CARDS programme specifically designed for the SAP countries. In June 2001 the Commission recommended the undertaking of negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Albania, the Göteborg European Council invited the Commission to present draft negotiating directives for the negotiation of a SAA. In October 2002 directives for the negotiation of a SAA with Albania were adopted 31 January 2003, on 31 January, Commission President Prodi officially launches the negotiations for a SAA between the EU and Albania. In June 2003 at the Thessaloniki Summit, the SAP was confirmed as the EU policy for the Western Balkans, in December 2005 the Council made the decision on the principles of a revised European Partnership for Albania. On 12 June 2006 the SAA was signed at the General Affairs, on 9 November 2006 the European Commission decided to start visa facilitation negotiations with Albania, and on 13 April 2007 the visa facilitation agreement was signed in Zagreb. The signing EU Commissioner Franco Frattini was quoted saying that this is the first step toward a full abolishment of the visa requirements, on 14 January 2009 the SAA ratification process by all the member states was completed and on 1 April 2009 The SAA entered into force. On 28 April 2009 Albania formally applied for membership in the European Union, on 16 November 2009 the Council of the EU asked the European Commission to prepare an assessment on Albanias readiness to start accession negotiations. The Commission submitted the questionnaire on accession preparation to the Albanian government, on 27 May 2010 The European Commission proposed visa free travel for Albania

Accession of Albania to the European Union
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Albanian EU accession bid
Accession of Albania to the European Union

64.
Origin of the Albanians
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The origin of the Albanians has been for some time a matter of dispute among historians. Contemporary historians conclude that the Albanians are descendants of populations of the prehistoric Balkans, little is known about these people, and they blended into one another in Thraco-Illyrian and Daco-Thracian contact zones even in antiquity. The Albanians first appear in the record in Byzantine sources of the 11th century. At this point, they were already fully Christianized, the Albanian language forms a separate branch of Indo-European, first attested in the 15th century, and is considered to have evolved from one of the Paleo-Balkans languages of antiquity. Studies in genetic anthropology show that the Albanians share similar ancestry to many other Europeans, the Albanians are also one of Europes populations that has most common ancestors within their own ethnic group even though they share ancestors with other ethnic groups. The Albanian language is attested in a form only in the 15th century AD. In the absence of data on the language, scholars have used the Latin. The place where the Albanian language was formed is uncertain, analysis has suggested that it was in a mountainous region, rather than in a plain or seacoast. The Slavic loans in Albanian suggest that contacts between two populations took place when Albanians dwelt in forests 600–900 metres above sea level. Some scholars believe that the Latin influence over Albanian is of Eastern Romance origin, rather than of Dalmatian origin, which would exclude Dalmatia as a place of origin. Adding to this the several hundred words in Romanian that are only with Albanian cognates. The areas where this might have happened is the Morava valley in eastern Serbia, in the 2nd century BC, the History of the World written by Polybius, mentions a location named Arbon that was perhaps an island in Liburnia or another location within Illyria. e. It is disputed, however, whether the Albanoi of the events of 1043 refers to Albanians in a sense or whether Albanoi is a reference to Normans from southern Italy under an archaic name. However a later reference to Albanians from the same Attaliates, regarding the participation of Albanians in a rebellion in 1078, is undisputed. Arbanitai of Arbanon are recorded in an account by Anna Comnena of the troubles in that region caused in the reign of her father Alexius I Comnenus by their fight against the Normans. The earliest Serbian source mentioning Albania is a charter by Stefan Nemanja, dated 1198, in the 12th to 13th centuries, Byzantine writers use the words Arbanon for a principality in the region of Kruja. The oldest reference to Albanians in Epirus is from a Venetian document dating to 1210, a Ragusan document dating to 1285 states, I heard a voice crying in the mountains in the Albanian language. This theory is also sustained by Robert Elsie, petar Skok suggested that the name originated from Scupi, the capital of the Roman province of Dardania

Origin of the Albanians
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Location of the Albani at 150 AD in Roman Macedon

65.
Geography of Albania
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Albania is a small predominantly mountainous country in Southeastern Europe and has a total area of 28,748 km2. Albania shares borders with four European countries, Montenegro in the northwest, Kosovo in the northeast, Macedonia in the west, Albanias coastline length on the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea is 476 km. The lowlands of the west face the Adriatic Sea and the strategically important Strait of Otranto, with the exception of the coastline, all Albanian borders are artificial. They were established in principle at the 1912–1913 conference of ambassadors in London, division of the lake district among three states required that each of them have a share of the lowlands in the vicinity. Such an artificial distribution, once made, necessarily affected the borderlines to the north and south, the border that runs generally north from the lakes, although it follows the ridges of the eastern highlands, stays sixteen to thirty-two kilometers west of the watershed divide. For the most part, there is no natural boundary from the highlands to the Adriatic, although Lake Shkodër and a portion of the Buna River south of it were used to mark Albanias northwest border. From the lake south and southwest to the Ionian Sea. There are four geographical regions in Albania, the Northern Mountain Range, the Southern Mountain Range, the Western Lowlands. The coastal lowlands have typically Mediterranean weather, the highlands have a Mediterranean continental climate, in both the lowlands and the interior, the weather varies markedly from north to south. The lowlands have mild winters, averaging about 7 °C, summer temperatures average 32 °C, humidity is low. In the southern lowlands, temperatures average about 5 °C in the winter and 30 °C during the summer, inland temperatures are affected more by differences in elevation than by latitude or any other factor. Low winter temperatures in the mountains are caused by the air mass that dominates the weather in Eastern Europe. Northerly and northeasterly winds blow much of the time, average summer temperatures are lower than in the coastal areas and much lower at higher elevations, but daily fluctuations are greater. Daytime maximum temperatures in the basins and river valleys are very high. Average precipitation is heavy, a result of the convergence of the airflow from the Mediterranean Sea. Because they usually meet at the point where the terrain rises, vertical currents initiated when the Mediterranean air is uplifted also cause frequent thunderstorms. Many of these storms are accompanied by local winds and torrential downpours. When the continental air mass is weak, Mediterranean winds drop their moisture farther inland, when there is a dominant continental air mass, cold air spills onto the lowland areas, which occurs most frequently in the winter

66.
List of mountains in Albania
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With an average elevation of 708 m above sea level, Albania is one of the most mountainous countries in the world. It has a terrain that covers more than 70% of its territory. There are many peaks reaching heights of more than 2,000 m above sea level, the tallest is Korab on the border with the Republic of Macedonia. It reaches a height of 2,751 metres, two large European mountain ranges dominate Albania, the Dinaric Alps and the Pindus mountains

67.
Climate of Albania
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Albania is a small predominantly mountainous country in Southeastern Europe and has a total area of 28,748 km2. Albania shares borders with four European countries, Montenegro in the northwest, Kosovo in the northeast, Macedonia in the west, Albanias coastline length on the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea is 476 km. The lowlands of the west face the Adriatic Sea and the strategically important Strait of Otranto, with the exception of the coastline, all Albanian borders are artificial. They were established in principle at the 1912–1913 conference of ambassadors in London, division of the lake district among three states required that each of them have a share of the lowlands in the vicinity. Such an artificial distribution, once made, necessarily affected the borderlines to the north and south, the border that runs generally north from the lakes, although it follows the ridges of the eastern highlands, stays sixteen to thirty-two kilometers west of the watershed divide. For the most part, there is no natural boundary from the highlands to the Adriatic, although Lake Shkodër and a portion of the Buna River south of it were used to mark Albanias northwest border. From the lake south and southwest to the Ionian Sea. There are four geographical regions in Albania, the Northern Mountain Range, the Southern Mountain Range, the Western Lowlands. The coastal lowlands have typically Mediterranean weather, the highlands have a Mediterranean continental climate, in both the lowlands and the interior, the weather varies markedly from north to south. The lowlands have mild winters, averaging about 7 °C, summer temperatures average 32 °C, humidity is low. In the southern lowlands, temperatures average about 5 °C in the winter and 30 °C during the summer, inland temperatures are affected more by differences in elevation than by latitude or any other factor. Low winter temperatures in the mountains are caused by the air mass that dominates the weather in Eastern Europe. Northerly and northeasterly winds blow much of the time, average summer temperatures are lower than in the coastal areas and much lower at higher elevations, but daily fluctuations are greater. Daytime maximum temperatures in the basins and river valleys are very high. Average precipitation is heavy, a result of the convergence of the airflow from the Mediterranean Sea. Because they usually meet at the point where the terrain rises, vertical currents initiated when the Mediterranean air is uplifted also cause frequent thunderstorms. Many of these storms are accompanied by local winds and torrential downpours. When the continental air mass is weak, Mediterranean winds drop their moisture farther inland, when there is a dominant continental air mass, cold air spills onto the lowland areas, which occurs most frequently in the winter

68.
Politics of Albania
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The Politics of Albania take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, wherein the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government, legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, the Assembly of the Republic of Albania Kuvendi i Republikës së Shqipërisë. Since 1991 the introduction of pluralism, the party system is dominated by the Democratic Party of Albania, parliamentary elections are held every four years, the most recent in 2013. Its official journal is the Albanian Official Journal, the head of state in Albania is the President of the Republic. The President is elected to a 5-year term by the Assembly of the Republic of Albania by secret ballot, requiring a two-thirds majority of the votes of all deputies. Bujar Nishani was on 11 June 2012 elected president by a majority of deputies in the assembly. He took the oath of office on 25 July 2012, executive power rests with the Council of Ministers. The Chairman of the Council is appointed by the President, ministers are nominated by the President on the basis of the Prime Ministers recommendation, the Peoples Assembly must give final approval of the composition of the Council. The Council is responsible for carrying out foreign and domestic policies. It directs and controls the activities of the ministries and other state organs, the Assembly of the Republic of Albania Kuvendi i Republikës së Shqipërisë is the lawmaking body in Albania. There are 140 deputies in the Assembly, of which 100 are directly elected by a majority of the voters. The President of the Assembly has two deputies and chairs the Assembly, there are 15 permanent commissions, or committees. Parliamentary elections are held at least every 4 years, all laws passed by the parliament are published by the Albanian Official Journal, the official journal of the government of Albania. The court system consists of a Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation, appeals courts, the Constitutional Court comprises nine members appointed by the Peoples Assembly for maximum 9-year terms. The Constitutional Court interprets the constitution, determines the constitutionality of laws, the remaining courts are each divided into three jurisdictions, criminal, civil, and military. The Court of Cassation is the highest court of appeal and consists of 11 members appointed by the Peoples Assembly, the President of the Republic chairs the High Council of Justice charged with appointing and dismissing other judges. The HCJ was expanded in late 1997 to comprise 13 members from among the branches of government. A college of three judges renders Albanian court verdicts, there is no trial, although the college is sometimes referred to in the Albanian press as the jury

Politics of Albania
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The building of the Assembly of Albania.

69.
Foreign relations of Albania
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The Foreign relations of Albania are its relations with other governments and peoples. Its foreign policy, since its independence, has maintained a policy of complementarism by trying to have relations with all countries. It entertains diplomatic relations with 115 countries in the world, the main factors defining Albanian foreign policy consist of geopolitical location, population, economic crisis, and ties with Albanian diaspora throughout the world. The nation has concentrated on maintaining relations with its Balkan neighbors, gaining access to European-Atlantic security institutions. Although the region is claimed by Serbia to be a Serbian province, a wave of Albanian illegal economic migrants to Greece exacerbated tensions. Greece responded by freezing all EU aid to Albania, and sealing its border with Albania, in December 1994, however, Greece began to permit limited EU aid to Albania, while Albania released two of the Omonia defendants and reduced the sentences of the remaining four. Today, as result of very frequent high-level contacts between the governments and the parliaments, relations between the two countries are regarded as cordial, Greece is a staunch supporter of the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Republic of Albania. Greece today is Albanias most important European Union ally and NATO partner, tirana’s relations with the Republic of Macedonia remain friendly, despite occasional incidents involving ethnic Albanians there. Tirana has repeatedly encouraged the Albanian minority’s continued participation in its government, during the 1990s, after the fall of communism, at the onset of democratic reforms, there were vast waves of illegal immigration from the Albanian ports to Italy. This strained relations between the countries somewhat as Italy had to avert a humanitarian crisis, the tensions reached a peak when an Italian coast guard ship allegedly rammed and sank an Albanian ship carrying 120–130,75 of whom drowned, on 28 March 1997. Eventually the two countries began joint operations aimed at stopping illegal smuggling operations, Italy has also provided financial assistance to Albania to help its ailing economy. On 14 January 2011, Albania signed a pact with Italy for a corporal foreign strategy, americas, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. Africa, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Australia and Oceania, Australia and New Zealand. A handful of Albanian troops have participated in the US-led invasions and occupations of Iraq, Albanian policy is very favorable to that of the United States and European Union. The $30 million Albanian-American Enterprise Fund, launched in 1994, is actively making debt, AAEF is designed to harness private sector efforts to assist in the economic transformation. U. S. assistance priorities include promotion of development and a market economy, advancement of democratic institutions. The Republic of Albania is member in international organizations. 107, February 2008, European Union Institute for Security Studies Lani, Remzi and this article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https, //www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index. html

70.
Elections in Albania
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Albania holds elections on a national level for a legislature. The Assembly of Albania has 140 members elected for four-year terms, the electoral system is closed list proportional representation. There are 12 multi-member constituencies corresponding to the countrys 12 administrative regions, within any constituency, parties must meet a threshold of 3 percent of votes, and pre-election coalitions must meet a threshold of 5 percent of votes. This electoral system replaced a system in November 2008. Under the old system,100 members were elected directly in single member constituencies with approximately equal numbers of voters,40 were elected from multi-name lists of parties or party coalitions according to their ranking. The change was criticised by the parties, but supported by the two main parties. It was considered an important step towards Albanias European integration, the president is elected by parliament. Albania has a multi-party system, with two or three parties and several other parties that are electorally successful. Electoral calendar Electoral system Adam Carrs Election Archive Parties and elections Real Time Elections Result June 2009

71.
Counties of Albania
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Albania is divided into twelve counties. Each county has been divided into two or more municipalities, which are the division of Albania. In 2015, the government reduced the number of municipalities to 61 and abolished separate rural municipalities, in 2000, counties replaced districts as the first-level administrative subdivision in Albania. Geography of Albania Districts of Albania List of cities in Albania ISO 3166-2, AL Interactive Map of Albania Counties Counties of Albania

Counties of Albania

72.
List of cities in Albania
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There are 74 cities in Albania holding the status of a city according to data by the Institute of Statistics. Albanias capital and largest city is Tirana, the countrys second largest city and major port is Durrës. 46 of the cities listed here govern the municipality with the same, the remaining 28 are administrative units also known as units of local governance. Municipalities of Albania Counties of Albania Geography of Albania Tourism in Albania Albanian Address System Geoportal Information on all major Albanian cities Bertaud, urban development in Albania, the success story of the informal sector,2006

List of cities in Albania
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Tirana, Capital of Albania
List of cities in Albania
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Map of Albania
List of cities in Albania
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Durrës
List of cities in Albania
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Vlorë

73.
Prisons in Albania
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Like in many other countries, prisoners in Albania are separated into remanded prisoners and convicted prisoners. The basic three types of prisons are closed, semi-open or open prisons, a difference is made between ordinary closed prisons and high security prisons. Many prisons have separate blocks for women and some also for children, prisoners themselves are allowed to elect a council of re education, which is used to enforce laws

74.
Economy of Albania
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The Economy of Albania has undergone a transition from its Communist past into an open-market economy since the early 1990s. As of 2014, exports seemed to be gaining momentum and had increased 300% from 2008, Albania has the second largest oil deposits in the Balkans and the largest onshore oil reserves in Europe. The collapse of communism in Albania came later and was more chaotic than in other Eastern European countries and was marked by an exodus of refugees to Italy. The country attempted to transition to autarky, but this eventually failed badly, attempts at reform began in earnest in early 1992 after real GDP fell by more than 50% from its peak in 1989. Albania currently suffers from high organised crime and corruption rates, key elements included price and exchange system liberalization, fiscal consolidation, monetary restraint, and a firm income policy. Most agriculture, state housing, and small industry were privatized and this trend continued with the privatization of transport, services, and small and medium-sized enterprises. In 1995, the government began privatizing large state enterprises, after reaching a low point in the early 1990s, the economy slowly expanded again, reaching its 1989 level by the end of the decade. This is a chart of Gross Domestic Product of Albania in US dollars based on Purchasing Power Parity from estimates by the International Monetary Fund, for purchasing power parity comparisons, the US dollar is exchanged at 49 leks. Mean wages were $3.83 per man-hour in 2009, Albania is an upper-middle income country by Western European standards, with GDP per capita greater than the several countries in the region. According to Eurostat, Albanias GDP per capita stood at 35 percent of the EU average in 2008, Unemployment rate of 17. 3% is considerably higher than many countries in Balkans, For Example, Serbia has an unemployment rate of 16. 6%. Results of Albanias efforts were initially encouraging, led by the agricultural sector, real GDP grew by an estimated 11% in 1993, 8% in 1994, and more than 8% in 1995, with most of this growth in the private sector. Annual inflation dropped from 25% in 1991 to single-digit numbers, the Albanian currency, the lek, stabilized. Albania became less dependent on food aid, the speed and vigour of private entrepreneurial response to Albanias opening and liberalizing was better than expected. Beginning in 1995, however, progress stalled, with negligible GDP growth in 1996, a weakening of government resolve to maintain stabilization policies in the election year of 1996 contributed to renewal of inflationary pressures, spurred by the budget deficit which exceeded 12%. Inflation approached 20% in 1996 and 50% in 1997, the lek initially lost up to half of its value during the 1997 crisis, before rebounding to its January 1998 level of 143 to the dollar. The new government, installed in July 1997, has taken measures to restore public order and to revive economic activity. Albania is currently undergoing an intensive macroeconomic restructuring regime with the International Monetary Fund, the need for reform is profound, encompassing all sectors of the economy. In 2000, the oldest commercial bank, Banka Kombetare Tregtare/BKT was privatized, in 2004, the largest commercial bank in Albania—then the Savings Bank of Albania—was privatised and sold to Raiffeisen Bank of Austria for US$124 million

75.
Albanian lek
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The lek is the official currency of Albania. It is subdivided into 100 qindarka, although qindarka are no longer issued, the lek was introduced as the first Albanian currency in February 1926. Before then, Albania was a country without a currency, adhering to a standard for the fixation of commercial values. The lek was named after Alexander the Great, whose name is shortened to Leka in Albanian. Alexanders portrait appeared on the obverse of the 1 lek coin, the name qindarkë comes from the Albanian qind, meaning one hundred. The word is similar in formation to centime, cent. Between 1926 and 1939 the name Franga was used for Albanian gold currency worth five Albanian Leke for use in international transactions, a similar alternate name Belga was used for units of five Belgian francs. In 1926, bronze coins were introduced in denominations of 5 and 10 qindar leku, together with nickel 1⁄4, 1⁄2 and 1 lek, the obverse of the franga coins depict Amet Zogu. In 1935, bronze 1 and 2 qindar ar were issued and this coin series depicted distinct neoclassical motifs, said to have been influenced by the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III who was known to have been a coin collector. These coins depict the mint marks R or V indicating Rome or Venice, aluminium-bronze 0.05 and 0.10 lek were then introduced in 1940. These coins were issued until 1941 and bear the portrait of Italian King Victor Emmanuel III on the obverse and the Albanian eagle with fasces on the reverse. In 1947, shortly after the communist party took power, older coins were withdrawn from circulation and these all depicted the socialist national crest. This coinage was minted in 1957 and used until the currency reform of 1965. In 1965, aluminium coins were introduced in denominations of 5,10,20 and 50 qindar and 1 lek, all coins depict the socialist state emblem. In 1969, a series of aluminum 5,10,20,50 qindar and 1 lek coins was released commemorating the 1944 liberation from fascism. The three smallest denominations remained similar in design to the 1964 series but depicted 1944-1969 on the obverse, the 50 qindarka and lek coins depicted patriotic and military images. In 1988, a redesign of aluminum 5,10,20,50 qindarka and 1 lek coins was released. In 1989, a cupro nickel 2 leke coin was introduced, all three of these coin series remained in circulation during and shortly after the 1991 revolution

76.
Taxation in Albania
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In Albania, taxes are levied by both federal and local governments. Most important revenue sources, include the tax, social security, corporate tax and the value added tax. The Albanian Taxation Office is the service of Albania. As of 2014, income tax is progressive, with three brackets, earlier, Albania had a flat tax of 10%, which was implemented in 2008. Value-Added Tax is levied at two different rates of 20% as standard rate, and 10% on medicinal products, social security and health insurance contributions are paid on employment, civil and management income. Contributions is paid on an income, from a minimum of 22,000 to a maximum amount of 95,130. The employees contribution is 9. 5% while the employer pays 15%, health insurance is levied at 1. 7% for both employee and employer. The self-employed pay 23% for social security and 7% for health insurance, corporate tax in Albania is levied at a flat rate of 15%. Businesses with a turnover of less than 8 million is exempt from corporate tax, a business is tax resident when the company has been incorporated in Albania or has a permanent establishment or the management and control is exercised in Albania

77.
Renewable energy in Albania
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Renewable energy in Albania ranges from biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind energy in Albania. Albania relies mostly on resources, therefore, it has difficulties when water levels are low. Albania has a potential for solar, wind, and geothermal energy. The climate in Albania is Mediterranean so it possesses considerable potential for solar energy, similarly, the mountain elevations provide good areas for wind projects. There is also potential for geothermal energy because Albania has natural wells, the current electricity source in Albania is mostly from hydropower plants, however, this is not very reliable since water levels fluctuate. Verbund, an Austria company, and Albania made an agreement to construct the hydropower plant Ashta in 2012 and it is estimated to supply power to approximately 100,000 households. The United Nations Development Program is supporting a program to install solar panels in Albania, the program has used $2.75 million to support the installation of 75, 000m2 of solar panels. By 2010,10, 700m2 of solar panels were installed, there are 50, 000m2 of solar panels expected to be installed by 2015. Albania gets about 2100–2700 hours of sunshine in a year so it has a potential for solar energy. Solar energy is easily accessible since most energy comes directly or indirectly from the sun and it could be used for heating and lighting homes, commercial, and industrial buildings. Albania has potential for wind energy but technologies have not been developed, however, there are plans to develop wind projects in the next years. There is a plan proposing to have 2000MW of wind energy, wind generates mechanical power through wind turbines. Some geographic locations are better than others because the wind depends on the speed of the wind. The coastal lowlands and Southern, Eastern, and Northern Albania mountains are good areas for wind turbines, however, there are constraints that take part in choosing location including, altitude, site accessibility, infrastructures, protected areas, and power grid. The wind speed is 8–9 m/s in many areas of Albania, Albania might export excess wind energy to Italy. Geothermal energy could also be used in Albania and it comes from warm water sources from underground soil. Geothermal energy comes from the heat generated by the Earth, there are some spots called hot spots that generate more heat than others. There are natural wells near Albania’s border with Greece and this energy could be used for heating purposes

78.
Solar power in Albania
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Solar power in Albania is widely available, but not yet developed. All of Albanias electricity comes from hydroelectricity, a program to install solar water heating intended to use $2.75 million to install 75,000 m² of solar panels. By the end of 2010 a total of 52,000 m² had been installed, the number of sunshine hours in Albania ranges from 2100 to 2700. List of renewable energy topics by country Solar power in the European Union Albania Energy Society PV/Solar generation

Solar power in Albania
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Solar radiation map of Albania

79.
Highways in Albania
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Highways in Albania form part of the recent Albanian road system. Following the collapse of communism in 1991, highways began to be modernized with the construction of the first highway in Albania, SH2, since the 2000s, main roadways have drastically improved, though lacking standards in design and road safety. This involved the construction of new roadways, planting of trees and related greening projects, however, some state roads continue to deteriorate from lack of maintenance while others remain unfinished. Since antiquity, the area of modern Albania served as an important caravan route between empires through the Via Pubblica and Via Egnatia. The former passed through northern Albania, while the latter linked Rome with Byzantium, during World War I, occupying forces opened up new road sections mainly in the mountainous areas of the country. In King Zogs period, further construction took place near Vlora. Private car ownership was not allowed and the only vehicles circulating were state-owned trucks, agricultural and officials vehicles, buses, motorcycles, and bicycles. The countrys roads, however, were narrow, poorly marked, pocked with holes, and in the early 1990s often crowded with pedestrians and people riding mules, bicycles. The biggest road project in the history of Albania is the construction of the Rrëshen-Kalimash dual carriageway from 2007 to 2010, the segment involved the carving of a mountainous terrain, and the construction of a 5.6 km long tunnel and dozens of bridges. In October 2010, Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced plans to build several major highways, at present, major cities are linked with either new single/dual carriageways or well maintained roads. There is a dual carriageway connecting the city of Durrës with Tirana, Vlorë. In fact, there are three formal motorway segments in Albania, Thumanë-Milot-Rrëshen-Kalimash, Levan-Vlorë, and partly Tirane-Elbasan, most rural segments continue to remain in bad conditions as their reconstruction has only began in the late 2000s by the Albanian Development Fund. All roads are property of Albanian Road Authority and maintained by Ndërmarrja Shtetërore Rruga-Ura, the government plans to create some toll highways in the near future. Albanian bitumen from Selenicë in Southern Albania is well known for its quality as it has used on some European motorways. A new road system has introduced in the last decade and is classified as follows. Another major priority is the completion of the Arbër Highway linking Tirana with the city of Debar through the current SH6, eventually, this superstradë will become part of European corridor 8 linking Albania with the Republic of Macedonia and Greece. Another objective is the completion of the Tirana-Elbasan Highway Motorway including the Krrabe Tunnel, other important goals are the launch of toll highways, and the construction of the Southern Axis of Albania passing across central and southern Albania. The completion of the Eastern Ring of Albania passing through Valbonë, Kukës, Krumë, Bulqizë, in the mountainous areas, roads can be tight and windy with numerous serpentines and hairpins

80.
Tourism in Albania
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Tourism in Albania has been a key element to the economic activity in the country, and is one of the countrys most significant sectors. The bulk of tourists going to Albania are mostly from Europe as well as from Asia. With a total of 3.8 million visitors, Albania is the 25th most visited country in Europe, lonely Planet ranked Albania as the number 1 destination to be visited in 2011. The New York Times ranked Albania fourth among 52 destinations to be visited in 2014, although still underdeveloped, Albania is set to prime its debut on the world scene as it celebrates a century of independence. A Huffington Post article outlined 10 reasons for visiting Albania in 2013, recently, Albania has been officially dubbed as Go Your Own Way. Previously, it was dubbed as A New Mediterranean Love, according to the Polish Tour Operators Association, Albania is the 10th most visited country by the Poles. Although a small country, Albania is distinguished for its biological diversity. Over a third of the territory of Albania – about 10,000 square kilometres, – is forested, about 3,000 different species of plants grow in Albania, many of which are used for medicinal purposes. Phytogeographically, Albania belongs to the Boreal Kingdom, the Mediterranean Region, Coastal regions and lowlands have typical Mediterranean macchia vegetation, whereas oak forests and vegetation are found on higher elevations. Vast forests of pine, beech and fir are found on higher mountains. Some of the most significant bird species found in the include the golden eagle – known as the national symbol of Albania – vulture species, capercaillie. The Albanian forests still maintain significant communities of large mammals such as the bear, gray wolf, chamois. The north and eastern mountains of the country are home to the last remaining Balkan lynx – a critically endangered population of the Eurasian lynx, the coastal lowlands have typically Mediterranean climate, the highlands have a Mediterranean continental climate. In both the lowlands and the interior, the weather varies markedly from north to south, the lowlands have mild winters, averaging about 7 °C. In the southern lowlands, temperatures average about 5 °C higher throughout the year, the difference is greater than 5 °C during the summer and somewhat less during the winter. Although relatively small, Albania is home to a number of lakes. Three of the largest and oldest lakes in southern Europe located in the country, Shkodra, Ohrid, some increasingly popular features include, Theth and Valbona Valley national parks in the Albanian Alps, part of the Prokletije or Accursed Mountains range in Northern Albania. Kelmend region and Shkrel are located southwest of Vermosh, the northernmost point of Albania, in total, the coastline of Albania stretches over 476 km and is administered by the AKB National Coastal Agency

Tourism in Albania
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The Albanian Riviera, panoramic view
Tourism in Albania
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World Heritage Site of Berat
Tourism in Albania
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Ancient Amphitheater of Butrint
Tourism in Albania
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Gjirokaster, the city of stone

81.
List of tribes of Albania
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This is a list of tribes of Albania, a region in south-west Balkans. The fact that the tribes of northern Albania were not completely subdued by the Ottomans is raised on the level of orthodoxy among the members of tribes. A possible explanation is that Ottomans did not have any reason to subdue northern Albanian tribes because they needed them as a source of mercenaries. In period without stable state control the tribe trialed its members, the usual punishments were, fine, exile or disarmament. The house of the member of the tribe would be burned. In Albania the disarmament was regarded as the most embarrassing verdict, members of the tribes of northern Albania believe their history is based on the notions of resistance and isolationism. Some scholars connect this belief with the concept of negotiated peripherality and this peripheral position also affected their national program which significance and challenges are different from those in southern Albania. Such peripheral territories are zones of dynamic culture creation where it is possible to create and manipulate regional and national histories to the advantage of certain individuals, besa is an important part of personal and familial standing and is often used as an example of Albanianism. Someone who breaks his besa may even be banished from his community, some authors and scholars, including Jovan Cvijić and some other members of the Serbian Academy, asserted that tribes of northern Albania are of Albanian-Serb origin. There are traditional beliefs which support this assertions, some other scholars refuted such assertions as imaginative chauvinist theories which purpose is to serve Serbian expansionism. Albanian antithesis asserts that many Serbs and all Montenegrins, Bosniaks and Dalmatians are in fact descendants of Slavicized Albanian tribes

List of tribes of Albania
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Albanian bajraks (1918).

82.
Culture of Albania
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The Culture of Albania is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Albania and Albanians. It has been shaped by the geography and profound history of Albania, the Albanian language comprises its own branch of the Indo-European language family, most scholars argue that Albanian derives from Illyrian. It is spoken by six million people, primarily in Albania, Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, and Greece, including Montenegro. Centuries-old communities speaking Albanian-based dialects can be scattered in Greece, the Arvanites, Southern Italy, Sicily, the Arbereshe people. Due to the large Albanian diaspora, the number of speakers is much higher than the native speakers in Southeast Europe. Meshari by Gjon Buzuku, published in 1555, is considered the first literary work of written Albanian, the refined level of the language and the stabilised orthography must be the result of an earlier tradition of written Albanian, a tradition that is not well understood. However, there is some fragmented evidence, pre-dating Buzuku, which indicates that Albanian was written from at least the 14th century, Albanian writings from these centuries must not have been religious texts only, but historical chronicles too. The History of Skanderbeg is still the foundation of Scanderbeg studies and is considered an Albanian cultural treasure, the most famous Albanian writer is probably Ismail Kadare. The Architecture of Albania is one of the most important evidence of the Albanian history, culture and it has its origins back in the antiquity, richly revealed by archaeological finds. It has kept its features and has been enriched with Illyrian, Roman, Ancient Greek, Byzantine, Venetian, Ottoman. The beginnings of architecture in Albania, dates to the middle Neolithic age with the discovery of prehistoric dwellings in Dunavec and they were built on a wooden platform that rested on stakes stuck vertically into the soil. Prehistoric dwellings in Albania consist of three types, houses enclosed either completely on the ground or half underground, both found in Cakran near Fier, and houses constructed above ground. From the 5th century BC, the Roman colonies of Apollonia and Dyrrachium flourished, while a number of Illyrian cities emerged such as Byllis, Amantia, Dimali, Albanopolis and they were built on top of the highest hills surrounded by heavily fortified walls. During the Middle Ages, a variety of styles developed in the form of dwelling, defense, worship. However, some inherited historic structures were damaged by invading Ottoman forces, in the 13th and 14th centuries, the consolidation of the Albanian feudal principalities gave rise to Varosha, or neighborhoods outside city walls. Examples of such developments are the Arberesh principalities centred in Petrele, Kruje, in the 15th century, close attention was given to protective structures such as the castle fortifications of Lezha, Petrela, Devoll, Butrint, and Shkodra. More reconstructions took place in strategic points such as the Castle of Elbasan, Preza, Tepelena, and Vlora and it is important to note that Ali Pashe Tepelena embarked on a major castle building campaign throughout Epirus. The first half of the 20th century begins with the Austro-Hungarian occupation, continues with Fan Noli’s government, King Zog’s kingdom, during this time, Albanian medieval towns underwent urban transformations by Austro-Hungarian architects, giving them the appearance of European cities

83.
Architecture of Albania
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The Architecture of Albania is influenced by Illyrian, Greek, Roman, Ottoman and Italian architecture, while preserving distinct Albanian features such as the Albanian house. The beginnings of architecture in Albania date to the middle Neolithic Age with the discovery of prehistoric dwellings in Dunavec and they were built on a wooden platform that rested on stakes stuck vertically into the soil. Prehistoric dwellings in Albania consist of three types, houses enclosed either completely on the ground or half underground, both found in Cakran near Fier, and houses constructed above ground. From the 5th century BC, the Roman colonies of Apollonia and Dyrrachium flourished, while a number of Illyrian cities emerged such as Byllis, Amantia, Dimali, Albanopolis and they were built on top of the highest hills surrounded by heavily fortified walls. Social structures were constructed such as the Durrës Colosseum, the temples of Apollonia, Orik, Buthrotum, and various promenades, theaters. Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, the walls of Dyrrah were reinforced with three layers, a hypodrome was constructed, while run off and sanitation systems were perfected. Meanwhile, additional structures were added to the centre of Apollonia such as an odeon, library, the period also marks the construction of thermal baths that were of social importance as places of gathering. One of the early Christian structures is the Basilica, the largest of its kind in Albania is that of Butrint, located in the south-eastern part of the ancient city. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the central plan-based Baptiseri of Butrint emerges, during the Middle Ages, a variety of architecture styles developed in the form of dwelling, defense, worship, and engineering structures. However, some inherited historic structures were damaged by invading Ottoman forces, in the 13th and 14th centuries, the consolidation of the Albanian feudal principalities gave rise to Varosha, or neighborhoods outside city walls. Examples of such developments are the Arberesh principalities centred in Petrele, Kruje, in the 15th century, close attention was given to protective structures such as the castle fortifications of Lezha, Petrela, Devoll, Butrint, and Shkodra. More reconstructions took place in strategic points such as the Castle of Elbasan, Preza, Tepelena, and Vlora and it is important to note that Ali Pashe Tepelena embarked on a major castle building campaign throughout Epirus. During the medieval period, mosques in Albania fell into two categories, those covered with a dome, and those with a covered hall. The latter were immediately adopted following the Ottoman invasion, by transforming the existing churches of Shkodra, Kruje, Berat, Elbasan, for instance, the Lead Mosque built by Mustafa Pasha Bushati in Shkodra resembles a typical Istanbul mosque. On the other hand, Christian religious structures inherited many features from their palaeochristian predecessors, between the 16th and 19th centuries, a series of small structures for Christian with simple layouts were built like the Voskopoja basilica, Ardenica Monastery, and Church of St. Nicholas in Voskopoja. The latter is one of the most valuable architectonic monuments in Albania and its interior walls are covered with paintings by the renowned painter David Selenica, and by brothers Constantine and Athanasios Zografi. During the 18th century, the city silhouette in Albania began to include places of worship and these, together with other social structures such as thermal baths, fountains, and medrese further enriched the city centre and its neighborhoods. In the 19th century, the bazaar emerges as a production and exchange centre, while the city expands beyond the castle, during this period, Shkodra and Korca become important commerce and skilled crafts centres

84.
Albanian literature
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The Albanian literature is the literature written in the Albanian language. It may also refer to literature written by Albanians or in Albania, Theodor of Shkodra or Theodor Shkodrani was an Albanian scholar of late 12th - early 13th century, of whom little is yet known. In 1998, a 208-page parchment written by Theodor of Shkodra discovered in the archives of Vatican dated to the year 1210, the work is a manuscript decorated with golden miniatures and colored initials, divided in three parts. Pages 1–97 deal with theology, 98–146 with philosophy, and pages 147–208 with a history of the world from AD153 to 1209. On the final page of the manuscript we find a note by the author With the assistance and great love of the blessed Lord, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire pushed many Albanians from their homeland during the period of the Western European Renaissance humanism. Meshari by Gjon Buzuku, published by him in 1555, is considered to date as the first literary work of written Albanian. The refined level of the language and the stabilised orthography must be a result of a tradition of writing Albanian. But there is some fragmented evidence, dating earlier than Buzuku, Albanian writings of these centuries must not have been religious texts only, but historical chronicles too. They are mentioned by the humanist Marin Barleti, who, in his book The Siege of Shkodra, despite the obstacles generated by the Counter-Reformation which was opposed to the development of national languages in Christian liturgy, this process went on uninterrupted. Another important writer of the Early Albanian Literature was Jul Variboba, during 18th century, the literature of Orthodox and Muslim confessional cultural circles witnessed a greater development. An anonymous writer from Elbasan translated into Albanian a number of sections from the Bible, T. H. Filipi, also from Elbasan, brings the Dhiata e Vjetër dhe e Re. These efforts multiplied in the century with the publication in 1827 of the integral text of the Dhiata e Re by G. Kavaljoti. Haxhiu, G. Voskopojari, whose works of knowledge, philology, theology and philosophy assisted objectively in the writing, Walachian and Albanian were also used for the teaching of Greek in the schools of Voskopoja, and books in Walachian were also printed in its printing presses. The works of Voskopoja writers and savants have brought in elements of the ideas of the European Enlightenment. The most distinguished of them was Teodor Kavaljoti, according to the notes of H. E. Thunman, the work of Kavaljoti, which remained unpublished, in most part deals with issues from almost all branches of philosophy and it shows the influence of Plato, Descartes, Malebranche and Leibniz. The Poetry of the Bejtexhinj was strongly influenced by Turkish, Persian, most of the genres and forms prevalent in Turkish and Persian verse are to be encountered in Albanian. The subject matter was often religious, either meditatively intimate or openly didactic, secular verses occur as well, love lyrics, nature poetry and historical and philosophical verse

85.
Fustanella
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Fustanella is a traditional pleated skirt-like garment that is also referred to as a kilt worn by men of many nations in the Balkans. In modern times, the fustanella is part of Balkan folk dresses, in Greece, a short version of the fustanella is worn by ceremonial military units like the Evzones, while in Albania it was worn by the Royal Guard in the interbellum era. Both Greece and Albania claim the fustanella as a national costume, some scholars state that the fustanella was derived from a series of ancient Greek garments such as the chiton and the chitonium. Although the pleated skirt has been linked to an ancient statue located in the area around the Acropolis in Athens, the Roman toga may have also influenced the evolution of the fustanella based on statues of Roman emperors wearing knee-length pleated skirts. Folklorist Ioanna Papantoniou considers the Celtic kilt, as viewed by the Roman legions, sir Arthur Evans considered the fustanella of the female peasants living near the modern Bosnian-Montenegrin borders as a preserved Illyrian element among the local Slavic-speaking populations. In the Byzantine Empire, a skirt known as the podea was worn. The wearer of the podea was either associated with a hero or an Akritic warrior. On Byzantine pottery sherds, warriors are shown bearing weapons and wearing the heavy pleated fustanella, in his Lexicon of Medieval Latin, Charles du Fresne suggests that fustanum originates from the Roman palla. Cotton fustana was among the belongings of Pope Urban V, archaeological evidence shows that the fustanella was already in common use in Greek lands as early as the 12th century. Byzantine warriors, in particular the Akritai, wearing fustanella are depicted in contemporary Byzantine art and this is also confirmed by the Medieval Greek acritic songs of the 12th century. The full-pleated fustanella was worn from the Byzantine Akritic warriors originally as a military outfit and it was frequently worn in conjunction with bows, swords, or battle-axes and frequently shown covered with a jointed corselet, or with a vest of chain mail. The fustanella is thought originally to have been a Tosk Albanian costume introduced into Greek territories during the Ottoman period, during the Ottoman period, the fustanella was also worn by the klephts and the armatoloi. It subsequently became part of the dress of Greece as a consequence of the migration. In the early 19th century, the popularity rose among the Greek population. It became difficult thereafter to distinguish the fustanella as clothing worn by male Arvanites from clothing worn by wider parts of Greek society. According to Helen Angelomatis-Tsougarakis, its popularity in the Morea was attributed to the influence of the Arvanite community of Hydra, the Hydriotes however could not have played a significant role in its development since they did not wear the fustanella, but similar costumes to the other Greek islanders. In those areas, its design and manageability in comparison to the clothing of the Greek upper classes of the era also made it fashionable amongst them in adopting the fustanella. The fustanella worn by the Roumeliotes was the chosen as the national costume of Greece in the early 19th century

Fustanella
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A Souliote warrior wearing fustanella, by Dupré Louis.
Fustanella
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A young man with a chiton. Roman copy of a Greek original of the 4th century BCE.
Fustanella
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Sgraffito pottery fragments from the 12th century showing Greek warriors wearing the fustanella, from Corinth, Greece.
Fustanella
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Macedonian fustanella for children, Museum of Macedonia in Skopje.

86.
Albanian cuisine
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Albanian Cuisine is the national cuisine of the Albanian people. It is Mediterranean, influenced by many including Greek, Italian and it is characterized by the use of Mediterranean herbs such as oregano, mint, basil, rosemary and more in cooking meat and fish, but also chilli pepper and garlic. Vegetables are used in almost every dish, the salad is dressed with salt, olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice. In high elevation localities, smoked meat and pickled preserves are common, animal organs are also used in dishes such as intestines and the head among other parts, which are considered a delicacy. Dairy products are part of the cuisine usually accompanied with ever present bread. Seafood specialties are also common in the cities such as Durrës, Vlorë, Shkodër. Wheat Bread or corn bread are ever-present on the Albanian table, hence the expression for going to eat a meal can be literally translated as going to eat bread. Bread is also used in the authentic Albanian hospitality saying of bread, salt, paçe is made with a sheeps, pigs or any cattles head, boiled until meat comes off easily. It is then stewed with garlic, onion, black pepper, sometimes a little flour is added to thicken the stew. It makes a hot and hearty winter stew, another version of the fillings is served as a filling for pite or pita. Flia — A traditional food prepared in Kosovo and Albania, qumeshtore Pepeq Shaprak Qollopita Lakruar is similar to burek however, it has layers of filo dough with onion, olive oil, eggs. It is specialty of South regions in Lunxheri Patisseries are present in every Albanian city, the most famous brand Glina is sourced from the spring baring the same name. Other common drinks include, Mountain tea Bozë Dhallë Beer Wine Raki Cognac Agriculture in Albania Culture of Albania Albania Stein, rené Redzepi, the Prince of Denmark. Albania Mania, Perfect beaches, mountain hikes and truly local food, albanias chestnut, cheese and pasta workers

87.
Rakia
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Rakia or Rakija is the collective term for fruit brandy popular in Eastern Europe. The alcohol content of rakia is normally 40% ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger, fruit brandies are commonly known as Rakia in Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro. In Romania, the terms ţuică and palincă are used over rachiu, in Hungary it is known as pálinka, while in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia the concept is known as pálenka. In Slovenia, it is known as sadjevec or šnops, fruits less commonly used are peaches, apples, pears, cherries, figs, blackberries, and quince. Similar spirits are produced in Romania, Moldova, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, in Albania, rakia is most commonly made out of grapes in mild climate regions and out of plums in colder climate areas. Plum and grape rakia are sometimes mixed with other ingredients, such as herbs, honey, sour cherries and walnuts, a popular home-made variant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Serbia is rakia produced from mixed fruits. In the Istrian and Dalmatian regions of Croatia, rakija tends to be home-made exclusively from grapes, normally, rakia is colorless, unless herbs or other ingredients are added. Some types of rakia are kept in barrels for extra aroma. It is supposed to be drunk from small glasses which hold from 30 to 50 ml. Greek ouzo and tsipouro, Turkish rakı and arak at Arabic, some tsipouro in Greece is made without anise in the same manner as pomace rakia. Boğma rakı in Turkey is similar to rakia in the Balkans, raki is a traditional drink in Albania, until the 19th century, meyhanes would serve wine or meze. Bulgaria cites an old piece of pottery from the 14th century in which the word rakinja is inscribed, the country has taken measures to declare the drink as a national drink in the European Union to allow lower excise duty domestically but has yet yielded no concrete results. During an archaeological study, Bulgarian archaeologists discovered an 11th-century fragment of a vessel used for the production of rakiya. Rakija is the most popular spirit in Croatia, travarica is usually served at the beginning of the meal, together with dried figs. The Croatian Adriatic coast is known for a variety of herbal grappas. The island Hvar is famous for grappa with the addition of Myrtus, southern islands, such as Korčula, and the city of Dubrovnik are famous for grappa with anise, and in central Dalmatia the most popular rakia is grappa with nuts. Its usually homemade, and served with dry cookies or dried figs, in the summer, its very typical to see huge glass jars of grappa with nuts steeping in the liquid on every balcony, because the process requires the exposure of orahovica to the sun. In the northern Adriatic — mainly Istria — rakia is made of honey or mistletoe

88.
Albanian wine
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The wine of Albania is characterized by its unique sweetness and indigenous varieties. Albania produced an estimated 17,500 tonnes of wine in 2009, during communism, the production area expanded to some 20,000 hectares. Albania has one of Europes longest histories of viticulture, the todays Albania region was one of the few places where vine was naturally grown during the ice age. The oldest found seeds in the region are 4,000 to 6,000 years old, ancient Roman writer Pliny describes Illyrian wine as very sweet or luscious and refers to it as the third rank among all the wines. Albanian families are known to grow grapes in their gardens for producing wine. During the Ottoman occupation the vineyard experienced a decline and were found in Christian-majority regions. After the independence, viticulture soon gained widespread popularity but was almost destroyed in 1933 by the phylloxera, a significant upturn began only after the Second World War One, at the end of which wine was still cultivated on only 2737 hectares. The most important producing region was Durrës area where grape was grown on communist state enterprises, in that time the nationwide acreage corresponded approximately to that of tobacco, but was significantly lower than that of olive and fruit trees. The exported wine was consumed primarily in Germany, the export decreased continuously from 61,000 hectoliters in 1971 to 22,000 hectoliters in 1985. The reasons are to be mainly in outdated production conditions and insufficient technical material that made it difficult to transport. On the other hand, the export of easily transportable graisins was continuously in increase, the most common varieties were Merlot, Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and Riesling. Wine production in Communist Albania reached its peak in 1972, at this time there were 23 operating wineries and 47 grape production sites. They survived the transition to an economy in good condition. Vineyards and wine production has steadily increasing in recent years. Albania is divided into four wine producing regions, The coastal plains rise to 300 m/990 ft and encompass the towns of Tiranë, Kavajë, Durrës, Shkodër, Lezhë, Lushnje, Fier, Vlorë, and Delvinë. The central hilly region varies between 300 and 600 m/1,980 ft altitude and includes Elbasan, Krujë, Gramsh, Berat, Përmet, Librazhd, the Eastern sub-mountainous region lies between 600 and 800 m and surrounds the towns of Pogradec, Korçë, Leskovik and Peshkopi. Mountains vines are grown as high as 1,000 m/3,300 ft. Soils are generally clay silica of varied depths. According to Nasse and Zigori the best native Albanian wine varieties are Debinë, Kallmet, Mereshnik, Mjaltëz, Serinë, Shesh i Bardhë, the best wine producing regions are Berat, Korçë, Tiranë, Durrës and the region between Lezhë and Shkodër

89.
Albania national football team
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The Albania national football team is the mens football team that has represented Albania in international competition since 1946. It is controlled by the Albanian Football Federation, the body for football in the country. Albania was the winner of the 1946 Balkan Cup and the 2000 Malta Rothmans International Tournament, at the UEFA Euro 2016, Albania made its first debut at a major mens football tournament. Albania scored their first ever goal in a tournament and secured first ever win in European Championship. The National Arena will be after its completion in 2018, the ground of the national team. Albanias highest FIFA World Rankings was 22nd in August 2015, although it never played any matches, the Albanian national football team existed before the Albanian Football Association was created in 1930. FSHF was founded on 6 June 1930, and in, Albania joined FIFA, Albania played its first international match against Yugoslavia in 1946 which ended in a 3–2 home defeat at Qemal Stafa Stadium. In 1946, Albania also participated for the first time in Balkan Cup in which Albania won by beating Romania 1–0 in the final, in 1954, Albania was one of the founding members of UEFA. At the end of the tournament Albania ranked 9th in Europe, Albania participated for the first time in a qualifying phrase of a World Cup in the qualifiers of the 1966 edition in England. The team was drawn in the Group 5 which finished in the last position only one point from six matches. In the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro 1968 Albania had a draw 0–0 against West Germany that denied the Germans the participation to the UEFA Euro 1968 finals. In later years, Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the World Cup 1970, UEFA Euro 1972, UEFA Euro 1976, World Cup 1978 and UEFA Euro 1980 for unknown political reasons. The qualifiers of the World Cup 1990 were probably the worst qualifier in Albanias history as there were 6 losses in as many games with no memorable matches. In the qualifiers of the World Cup 2002, Albania recorded a 2–0 win over Greece which was the team that they beat during the qualifiers. Albania was able to make impact in the qualifying of the UEFA Euro 2004 by beating 3–1 Russia at Loro Boriçi Stadium. This match was also the debut of the German coach Hans-Peter Briegel who led Albania to a run at home matches. Albania finished the group in the spot with only eight points. In the qualifiers of the World Cup 2006 Albania recorded some historical results, two months after Greece beat Portugal to win the European Championship, Albania defeated Greece 2–1 in a match which Albania scored goals in the 2nd and 11th minutes

Albania national football team
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Panorama of Elbasan Arena.
Albania national football team
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Albania
Albania national football team
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Tifozat Kuq e Zi logo with Big Sabit as its mascot
Albania national football team
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Lorik Cana is the most capped player in the history of Albania with 88 caps.

90.
Music of Albania
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Albanian music displays a variety of influences. Albanian folk music traditions differ by region, with major differences between the traditional music of the Ghegs in the North and Tosks in the South. Since the 1920s, some such as Fan S. Noli have also produced works of Albanian classical music. One of the most important venues exhibiting traditional Albanian music is the Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival held every five years in Gjirokastër, albanias political, military and cultural domination by outside elements have contributed to the countrys modern music scene. Albanian music is a fusion of the music of Southeastern Europe, however, the Albanian people kept maintained vast cultural identity away from their overlords, with many living in rural and remote mountains. Complete list, List of Albanian folk musicians, Albanian folk music falls into three stylistic groups, with other important music areas around Shkodër and Tirana, the major groupings are the Ghegs of the north and southern Labs and Tosks. The northern and southern traditions are contrasted by the rugged and heroic tone of the north, the first compilation of Albanian folk music was made by Pjetër Dungu in 1940. Albanian folk songs can be divided into groups, the heroic epics of the north. The music of various festivals and holidays is also an important part of Albanian folk song, especially those that celebrate St. Lazarus Day, lullabies and laments are very important kinds of Albanian folk song, and are generally performed by solo women. The Ghegs from North of the Shkumbini River are known for a variety of sung epic poetry. Many of these are about Skanderbeg, a legendary 15th century warrior who led the struggle against the Turks, styles of epics also include the këngë trimash/kreshnikësh, ballads and Vajtims maje krahi. Major epics include Mujo and Halil and Halil and Hajrije, the most traditional variety of epic poetry is the Albanian Songs of the Frontier Warriors. These epic poems are sung, accompanied by a lahuta, a one-stringed fiddle and it is rarely performed in modern Albania, but is found in the northern highlands. Though men are the performers, women have increasingly been taking part in epic balladry. Along with the def, çifteli and sharki are used in a style of dance, homemade wind instruments are traditionally used by shepherds in northern Albania, these include the zumarë, an unusual kind of clarinet. This shepherds music is melancholic and contemplative in tone, the songs called maje-krahi are another important part of North Albanian folk song, these were originally used by mountaineers to communicate over wide distances, but are now seen as songs. Maje-krahi songs require the range of the voice and are full of melismatic nuances. Southern Albanian music is soft and gentle, and polyphonic in nature with similarities with Greek music on polyphonic song of Epirus

Music of Albania
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A man, known as the 'Lahutar' playing the Lahuta.
Music of Albania
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Folk group from Southern Albania
Music of Albania
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Lira Chorus from Korca
Music of Albania
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Çiftelia

91.
Smoking in Albania
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Smoking in Albania is prevalent as about 40% of Albanians smoke regularly. In Europe, only Turkey has a smoking rate than Albania. Albanians annually spend more than €300 million on tobacco products, Albania adopted tough anti-smoking laws in 2007, but they are not strictly enforced. Smoking prevalence is increasing, especially among females ages 13 to 15, the smoking rate for teens between the ages of 13 and 15 is currently 15%. Although the law forbids the smoking of cigarettes in public spaces like restaurants, bars, work places. Albanians regularly smoke in those places, especially nights and weekends, the smoking ban is generally followed on public transport in Tirana as people put out cigarettes before boarding buses. Zog I of Albania was reported to smoke 200 cigarettes a day, making him possibly the heaviest smoker of his generation

Smoking in Albania
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The international no smoking sign is posted in all bars and restaurants but is almost always ignored in Albania

92.
Azerbaijani Armed Forces
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The Azerbaijani Armed Forces were re-established according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Armed Forces from 9 October 1991. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic had originally formed its own armed forces from 26 June 1918, however these were dissolved after Azerbaijan was absorbed into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 28 April 1920. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991–92 the armed forces were reformed based on Soviet bases, the armed forces have three branches, the Azerbaijani Land Forces, the Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force, and the Azerbaijani Navy. Associated forces include the Azerbaijani National Guard, the Internal Troops of Azerbaijan, and the State Border Service, which can be involved in state defense under certain circumstances. According to the Azerbaijani media sources the military expenditures of Azerbaijan for 2009 were set at $2.46 billion USD, however according to SIPRI, IISS also suggests that the defence budget in 2009 was $1.5 billion. The Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan supervises the design, manufacturing, regulation, in the future, Azerbaijan hopes to start building tanks, armored vehicles, military planes and military helicopters. The incumbent Minister of Defence of Azerbaijan is Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, since the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has been trying to further develop its armed forces into a professional, well trained, and mobile military. Azerbaijan has been undergoing modernization and capacity expanding programs, with the military budget increasing from around $300 million in 2005 to $2.46 billion in 2009. The total armed forces number 56,840 men in the forces,7,900 men in the air force and air defence force. There are also 19,500 personnel in the National Guard, State Border Service, in addition, there are 300,000 former service personnel who have had military service in the last 15 years. The military hardware of Azerbaijan consists of 220 main battle tanks, the air force has about 106 aircraft and 35 helicopters. Azerbaijan has acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state, Azerbaijan participates in NATOs Partnership for Peace. Azerbaijan joined the force in 2003. It sent 150 troops to Iraq, and later troops to Kosovo, Azeri troops are still serving in Afghanistan. Despite the rise in Azerbaijans defence budget, the forces were assessed in 2008 as not having a high state of battle readiness. The history of the modern Azerbaijan army dates back to Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, first de facto Minister of Defense of ADR was Dr. Khosrov bey Sultanov. When the Ministry was formally established Gen. Samedbey Mehmandarov became the minister, chiefs of Staff of ADR Army were Lt-Gen. The Red Army invaded Azerbaijan on 28 April 1920, as many as 20,000 of the total 30,000 soldiers died resisting what was effectively a Russian reconquest

93.
Belgian Armed Forces
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The Belgian Armed Forces is the national military of Belgium. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became independent in October 1830, since that time Belgian armed forces have fought in World War I, World War II, the Cold War, Kosovo, Somalia and Afghanistan. The ParaCommando Brigade intervened several times in Central-Africa, for maintaining public order, the Armed Forces comprise four branches, the Land Component, the Air Component, the Marine Component and the Medical Component. It is currently active in Lebanon, Afghanistan, the Gulf of Aden, the need for a regular army was however soon acknowledged. The basis for recruitment was one of conscription under which exemptions could be purchased by obtaining substitutes. In practice this meant that only about a quarter of each years eligible intake actually served, as part of the national policy of even-handed neutrality, the 19th century Belgian Army was deployed as an essentially defensive force in fortifications facing the Dutch, German and French borders. Mobilisation plans simply required reservists to report to their depots, without arrangements being made in advance for deployment in a direction or against a particular enemy. Recruitment difficulties caused the army to remain below its intended strength of 20,000 men, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 required full mobilisation for nearly a year, a process which showed up serious training and structural weaknesses. The presence of Belgian forces in strength along the borders did however ensure that the combat at no time spilled over into Belgian territory. In Belgium conscripts were selected through the drawing of ballots, and this system favored the well-off and had been discarded elsewhere as inefficient and unpatriotic. For those conscripted the terms of service required eight years in the regular army, various categories of volunteer enjoyed such privileges as being able to specify their branch of service, bounties and higher pay. The Papal Army based in Rome included from 1860 a battalion-sized unit known as the Tirailleurs Franco-Belges, recruited amongst volunteers from both countries, this became the Pontifical Zouaves in 1861 and fought as an allied force on the French side in 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. In 1864 a Corps Expeditionnaire Belge was raised for service in Mexico, originally intended to serve as the Guard of the Belgian-born Empress Charlotte this 1,500 strong force was largely drawn from volunteers seconded from the Belgian Army. Known popularly as the Belgian Legion, it saw service in Mexico as part of the Imperial forces. From 1885 the Force Publique was established as the garrison and police force in the Belgian Congo. Initially led by a variety of European mercenaries, this force was subsequently officered by Belgian regulars after 1908. From December 1904 a small detachment of Belgian troops was based in China as the Guard of the Belgian Legation in Peking. Reforms undertaken in the years of the 20th century included the abolition in 1909 of the system of drawing lots for the selection of the annual intake of conscripts

94.
Bulgarian Armed Forces
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The Bulgarian Army represents the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Commander-in-Chief is the President of Bulgaria, the Ministry of Defence is in charge of political leadership while overall military command remains in the hands of the Defence Staff, headed by the Chief of the Defence. There are three branches, named literally the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Naval Forces. Throughout history, the Army has played a role in defending the countrys sovereignty. During the Cold War the Peoples Republic of Bulgaria maintained one of the largest militaries in the Warsaw Pact, since the Fall of Communism, the political leadership decided to pursue a pro-NATO policy, thus reducing military personnel and weaponry. Bulgaria joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on 29 March 2004, the patron saint of the Bulgarian Army is St. George. The Armed Forces Day or St. Georges Day is a holiday in Bulgaria. The modern Bulgarian military dates back to 1878, on 22 July 1878 a total of 12 battalions of opalchentsi who participated in the Liberation war, formed the Bulgarian armed forces. According to the Tarnovo Constitution, all men between 21 and 40 years of age were eligible for military service, in 1883 the military was reorganized in four infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade. The Serbo-Bulgarian War was the first armed conflict after Bulgarias liberation and it was a result of the unification with Eastern Rumelia, which happened on 6 September 1885. The unification was not completely recognized, however, and one of the countries that refused to recognize the act was the Kingdom of Serbia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been expanding its influence in the Balkans and was particularly opposed. Serbia also feared this would diminish its dominance in the region, in addition, Serbian ruler Milan Obrenović IV was annoyed that Serbian opposition leaders like Nikola Pašić, who had escaped persecution after the Timok Rebellion, had found asylum in Bulgaria. Lured by Austria-Hungarys promises of territorial gains from Bulgaria, Milan IV declared war on Bulgaria on 14 November 1885, Military strategy relied largely on surprise, as Bulgaria had moved most of its troops near the border with the Ottoman Empire, in the southeast. As it happened, the Ottomans did not intervene and the Serbian armys advance was stopped after the Battle of Slivnitsa, the main body of the Bulgarian army traveled from the Ottoman border in the southeast to the Serbian border in the northwest to defend the capital, Sofia. After the defensive battles at Slivnitsa and Vidin, Bulgaria began an offensive that took the city of Pirot, at this point the Austro-Hungarian Empire stepped in, threatening to join the war on Serbias side if Bulgarian troops did not retreat. Fighting lasted for only 14 days, from 14-28 November, a peace treaty was signed in Bucharest on 19 February 1886. No territorial changes were made to either country, but Bulgarian unification was recognized by the Great Powers, however, the relationship of trust and friendship between Serbia and Bulgaria, built during their long common fight against Ottoman rule, suffered irreparable damage. Instability in the Balkan region in the early 1900s quickly became a precondition for a new war, Bulgaria, which had secured Ottoman recognition of its independence in April 1909 and enjoyed the friendship of Russia, also looked to districts of Ottoman Thrace and Macedonia for expansion

95.
Republic of Croatia Armed Forces
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The total number of active military personnel in the Croatian Armed Forces stands at 14,506 and 6,000 reserves working in various service branches of the armed forces. In May 2016, Armed Forces had 16,019 members, of the 14,506 active military personnel,3,183 were officers,5,389 non-commissioned officers,5,393 soldiers,520 military specialists,337 civil servants and 1,176 other employees. Total available male manpower aged 16–49 number 1,035,712, male citizens are now no longer subject to compulsory military service since January 1,2008. However, the last generation of 2007 servicemen was also absolved of compulsory service by an act from then Minister of Defence Berislav Rončević. For example,1995 Croatian defense budget stood at 12.4 billion Croatian Kuna or just over 12% of GDP, a long term modernization plan, 2015-2024 has been published outlining overall goals and is available for download at the Ministry of Defence of Croatia website. At the moment the Croatian Air Force will keep 12 MiG-21bis fighter aircraft, the Dr. Franjo Tuđman Military Academy acts as a school of higher learning responsible for training and educating future generations of military personnel. The academy consists of schools including Ban Josip Jelačić, Blago Zadro, Katarina Zrinska, the Officers Academy. The academy has 300 full-time staff and is the military academy in Croatia. Each year also 100-120 foreign nationals attend the academy, the Commander-in-Chief of all Croatian armed forces in peace and war is the President of the Republic. The Commander-in-Chief prescribes the organization of the Croatian Armed Forces at the proposal of the Chief of General Staff, the Armed Forces consist of peacetime and wartime components. The wartime component of the Armed Forces includes all other reservists, the General Staff is part of the Ministry of Defense in charge of commanding, training and use of the Armed Forces. It also has a number of units under its command, including the Special Operations Battalion, Honor Guard Battalion. In peace, the Commander-in-Chief exercises his command through the Minister of Defence, in war and in cases where the Minister of Defence is not fulfilling his orders, the Commander-in-Chief exercises his command directly through the General Staff Commander. The Croatian Parliament exercises democratic control over the Armed Forces by adopting defence strategy, defence budget, the command staff is composed of the members who served in the special units, guards brigades and reconnaissance units of the Croatian Armed Forces. Colonel Perica Turalija is the current commanding officer of the command, also, this means that members of all three branches of the Croatian armed forces can apply for selection. Other special operations units are the Military Intelligence Battalion and Special Military Police Company, the duties of an Honour Guard are performed by the Počasno zaštitna bojna, located at Zagreb in the Tuškanac military base. A $3-Billion modernization plan was proposed by the then Prime Minister Ivica Racan of the SDP led Government in 2003, with planned modernization starting in 2006 and ending in 2015. However it has been delayed in part due to the subsequent economic recession, a New Plan under the current Prime Minister Zoran Milanović should define exactly how and what the Croatian armed forces should look like by 2023

96.
Cypriot National Guard
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The Cypriot National Guard, also known as the Greek Cypriot National Guard or simply as National Guard, is the combined arms military force of the Republic of Cyprus. This force consists of Air, Land, Sea and Special Forces elements, and is highly integrated with its first and second line reserves, as well as supporting civilian agencies and paramilitary forces. As outlined by the tripartite Treaty of Alliance and defined by the early Constitution of 1960–1963, Cyprus was entitled to an army of 2,000 men, to be made up of 60% Greek and 40% Turkish personnel. This adjustment was aimed at giving greater representation and influence to the Greek Cypriot majority, the Cypriot National Guard has been involved in multiple combat operations, all within Cyprus territory. In 1964, Cyprus and Turkey engaged in direct confrontation during the Battle of Tylliria, Greek Cypriot forces entered the Turkish enclave of Kokkina in an effort to eliminate a Turkish beachhead, resulting in almost two weeks of fighting. In 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus intervening against a coup by the Cyprus National Guard in Nicosia. The invasion resulted in two concentrated Turkish offensives and one dispersed Greek Cypriot counter-offensive, within one month, Turkish forces had captured 38% of the islands northern area, succeeding in bisecting Nicosia and taking Kyrenia, Morphou and Famagusta. In 1978, Egyptian commando forces raided Larnaca International Airport in an effort to seize a hijacked Greek Cypriot airliner, Greek Cypriot commando and paramilitary forces resisted the Egyptian forces, resulting in a sustained gun battle with the death of 12 Egyptian commandos and 3 Egyptian Air Force aircrew. Currently, only Greek Cypriots serve in the military, legally, the Greek Cypriot community comprises the ethnic Greek population as well as Cypriots belonging to three Christian minorities – the Armenians, Latin Rite Catholics and Maronites. Since 2008, service is mandatory for all members of the Greek Cypriot community, the current supreme commander is a Greek military commander, as have been all of his predecessors. Military service in the Republic of Cyprus is mandatory for males, the obligatory service period is 14 months. All male visitors to the island of military age who have a father of Cypriot extraction are required to obtain a visa from a Defence Ministry office. The main body of the Cypriot ground forces is made up by 2 infantry divisions,3 infantry brigades,1 armored brigade and 1 support brigade, the Greek Cypriots also possessed some Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, along with a variety of Bedford trucks and old US made jeeps. The attempted siege of Kokkina began on 6 August and ended on 9 August after two days of air strikes by the Turkish Air Force around Kokkina and neighbouring Kato Pyrgos. This move resulted in rapid Soviet assistance, widely regarded by Western countries as a step towards a Cold War alliance between Cyprus and Russia. As soon as 23–24 December 1964, a Russian Navy freighter arrived at Limassol Port carrying the first batch of arms intended to re-equip the National Guard. These supplies included 4 unidentified armoured vehicles, and 130 ZIL heavy trucks, after this initial delivery, arms transfers made by the Russian Navy to Cyprus accelerated, with freighters travelling via Alexandria in Egypt to Limassol under cover of night. Few funds were available to secure other armaments of technical support

97.
Danish Defence
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The Danish Defence is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark, charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Denmark also has a concept of total defence, during World War II, the armed forces were disbanded by the Germans during Operation Safari. After the war, the different branches were reorganized, and collected under Danish Defence, was in order for greater communication between the branches. The purpose and task of the forces of Denmark is defined in Law no.122 of February 27,2001. It defines three purposes and six tasks, since 1988, Danish defence budgets and security policy have been set by multi-year agreements supported by a wide parliamentary majority including government and opposition parties. The latest Defence agreement was signed June 10,2004, from now about 60% support structure and 40% combat operational capability, it is to be 40% support structure and 60% combat operational capability, i. e. more combat soldiers and fewer paper-soldiers. The standard mandatory conscription is modified, generally this means fewer conscripts, less service time for them and only those who choose so, will continue into the reaction force system. This list lists the complete expenditures for the Danish Ministry of Defence, the Danish Defence Force, counting all branches and all departments, itself has an income equal to about 1–5% of its expenditures, depending on the year. They are not deducted in this listing, approximately 95% of the budget goes directly to running the Danish military including the Home guard. Because Denmark has a small and highly specialized military industry, the vast majority of the Danish Defences equipment is imported from NATO, frømandskorpset, Amphibious attack and infiltration unit. Slædepatruljen Sirius, Arctic dog sled unit patrolling the border of Greenland. Current deployment of Danish forces, since 10-03-2016, A Challenger CL-604 MMA for maritime patrol in the Baltic Sea as part of NATO Allied Maritime Command,35 soldiers in Kosovo participating in NATOs Kosovo Force, guarding the French Camp Marechal De Lattre de Tassigny. 84 people in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support Mission, HDMS Absalon patrolling the Aegean Sea for human trafficking. 20 people in Bamako and Gao, as part of MINUSMA,13 people in Juba, as part of UNMISS. 11 people in Israel, as part of UNTSO,2 people in South Korea, as part of UNCMAC. 12 men on the Sirus Patrol of Eastern Greenland, a Challenger CL-604 MMA to fly patrol over Greenland. Rota between HDMS Tulugaq, HDMS Knud Rasmussen, HDMS Triton and HDMS Thetis to enact sovereignty patrol in the seas of Greenland, a Challenger CL-604 MMA to do maritime environmental monitoring missions in the North Sea. 149 people at Al Asad Airbase in Iraq to train the military as part of Operation Inherent Resolve

98.
Finnish Defence Forces
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The Finnish Defence Forces are responsible for the defence of Finland. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for 165,255 or 347 days, alternative non-military service and volunteer service by women are possible. Finland is the only non-NATO EU country bordering Russia, finlands official policy states that a wartime military strength of 230,000 personnel constitutes a sufficient deterrent. The army consists of a mobile field army backed up by local defence units. Finlands defence budget equals approximately 2.8 billion euros or 1.3 percent of GDP, the voluntary overseas service is highly popular and troops serve around the world in UN, NATO and EU missions. Homeland defence willingness against an enemy is at 76%, one of the highest rates in Europe. Fighting between the White Guards and the Red Guards had already broken out about a week before around Viipuri, after winning the Civil War, the Finnish peacetime army was organized as three divisions and a brigade by professional German officers. It became the structure for the next 20 years. The coast was guarded by former czarist coastal fortifications and ships taken as prizes of war, the Air Force had already been formed in March 1918, but remained a part of the Army and did not become a fully independent fighting force until 1928. The new government instituted conscription after the Civil War and also introduced a mobilization system, when the Soviets invaded in November 1939, the Finns defeated the Red Army on numerous occasions, including at the crucial Battle of Suomussalmi. These successes were in part thanks to the application of motti tactics. While the Finns ultimately lost the war and were forced to agree to the Moscow Peace Treaty, during the war the Finns lost 25,904 men, while Soviet losses were 167,976 dead. Finland fought in the Continuation War alongside Germany from 1941 to 1944, thanks to German aid, the army was now much better equipped, and the period of conscription had been increased to two years, making possible the formation of sixteen infantry divisions. The demobilization and regrouping of the Finnish Defense Forces were carried out in late 1944 under the supervision of the Soviet-dominated Allied Control Commission. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1947, which imposed restrictions on the size and equipment of the forces and required disbandment of the Civic Guard. The reorganization resulted in the adoption of the brigade -in place of the division- as the standard formation, for the first two decades after the Second World War, the Finnish Defence Forces relied largely on obsolete wartime material. Defence spending remained minimal until the early 1960s, during the peak of the Cold War, the Finnish government made a conscious effort to increase defence capability. This resulted in the commissioning of new weapons systems and the strengthening of the defence of Finnish Lapland by the establishment of new garrisons in the area

Finnish Defence Forces
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White Guard in Nummi. White Guards were appointed as the official military forces of the Finnish government on 25 January 1918.
Finnish Defence Forces
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The tower and the lion is the symbol of the Finnish Defence Forces.
Finnish Defence Forces
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Finnish soldier equipped with Lahti-Saloranta M-26 during the Winter war.
Finnish Defence Forces
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Finnish troops equipped with Panzerfaust antitank weapons walk past a destroyed Soviet T-34 tank during the Battle of Tali-Ihantala. The lead soldier is also armed with a Suomi KP/-31.

99.
French Armed Forces
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The French Armed Forces encompass the French Army, the French Navy, the French Air Force, the French National Guard and the National Gendarmerie of France. The President of the Republic heads the armed forces, with the title chef des armées, the President is the supreme authority for military matters and is the sole official who can order a nuclear strike. France maintains the tenth largest defence budget in the world and the second largest armed forces in size in the EU, France also maintains the third largest nuclear deterrent behind only Russia and the United States. The Gallo-Roman conflict predominated from 60 BC to 50 BC, with the Romans emerging victorious in the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, after the decline of the Roman Empire, a Germanic tribe known as the Franks took control of Gaul by defeating competing tribes. The land of Francia, from which France gets its name, had points of expansion under kings Clovis I. In the Middle Ages, rivalries with England and the Holy Roman Empire prompted major conflicts such as the Norman Conquest and the Hundred Years War. The Wars of Religion crippled France in the late 16th century, in parallel, France developed its first colonial empire in Asia, Africa, and in the Americas. Resurgent French armies secured victories in dynastic conflicts against the Spanish, Polish, at the same time, France was fending off attacks on its colonies. As the 18th century advanced, global competition with Great Britain led to the Seven Years War, internal political upheaval eventually led to 23 years of nearly continuous conflict in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The rest of the 19th century witnessed the growth of the Second French colonial empire as well as French interventions in Belgium, Spain, other major wars were fought against Russia in the Crimea, Austria in Italy, and Prussia within France itself. Following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Franco-German rivalry erupted again in the First World War, France and its allies were victorious this time. The Allies, including the government in exiles Free French Forces and later a liberated French nation, as a result, France secured an occupation zone in Germany and a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. The imperative of avoiding a third Franco-German conflict on the scale of those of two world wars paved the way for European integration starting in the 1950s. France became a power and since the 1990s its military action is most often seen in cooperation with NATO. Today, French military doctrine is based on the concepts of independence, nuclear deterrence. France is a member of NATO, and has worked actively with its allies to adapt NATO—internally. In December 1995, France announced that it would increase its participation in NATOs military wing, including the Military Committee, France remains a firm supporter of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and other cooperative efforts. Paris hosted the May 1997 NATO-Russia Summit which sought the signing of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation, France has undertaken a major restructuring to develop a professional military that will be smaller, more rapidly deployable, and better tailored for operations outside of mainland France

100.
Hellenic Armed Forces
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The Hellenic Armed Forces are combined military forces of Greece. They consist of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, the Hellenic Army, the Hellenic Navy, the civilian authority for the Greek military is the Ministry of National Defense. Greece currently has universal compulsory military service for males, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for 9 months, women may serve in the Greek military, but cannot be conscripted. According to NATO, in 2008, Greece spent 2.8 percent of G. D. P. on its military, or about €6.9 billion, or around $9.3 billion. Greece is the largest importer of weapons in Europe and its military spending is the highest in the European Union. Greece is an EU and NATO member country and participates in peacekeeping operations such as ISAF in Afghanistan, EUFOR in Bosnia and Chad, the basic components of the Hellenic Army are Arms and Corps, the first responsible for combat missions and the latter for logistical support. It is organized in Commands, formations, and units with the basic being brigade, division and its main mission is to guarantee the territorial integrity and independence of the state. Hellenic Navy possesses a powerful fleet, consisted of strike units, Hellenic Air Force incorporates a modern air fleet, the congruent structure, as well as a modern system of air control, which cooperates with a widespread net of anti aircraft defense. The structure of its forces includes the General Staff of Air Force, the Command Post of Regular Army, the Air Support Command, the Air Training Command and a number of units and services

101.
Military of Iceland
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Icelands defences consist of the Icelandic Coast Guard, which patrols Icelandic waters and airspace, and other services such as the National Commissioners National Security and Special Forces Units. The Coast Guard consists of three ships and four aircraft and armed with small arms, naval artillery, and Air Defence weaponry, the Coast Guard also maintains the Iceland Air Defence System, formerly part of the disestablished Defence Agency, which conducts ground surveillance of Icelands air space. Units subordinated to the National Commissioner also take part in Icelands defences, additionally there is a Crisis Response Unit, operated by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which is a small peacekeeping force that has been deployed internationally, since 2008. This unit also has an unarmed component, furthermore, there is a treaty with the United States regarding the defense of Iceland, the former maintained a military base known as Naval Air Station Keflavik before it was disestablished in 2006. There are also agreements about military and other security operations with Norway, Denmark, Iceland holds the annual NATO exercises entitled Northern Viking. The most recent exercises were held in 2011, as well as the EOD exercise Northern Challenge, in 1997 Iceland hosted its first Partnership for Peace exercise, Cooperative Safeguard, which is the only multilateral PfP exercise so far in which Russia has participated. Another major PfP exercise was hosted in 2000, Iceland has also contributed ICRU peacekeepers to SFOR, KFOR and ISAF. The government of Iceland contributes financially to NATOs international overhead costs and recently has taken an active role in NATO deliberations. Iceland hosted the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Reykjavík in June 1987 and these armies were divided into units according to the quality of the warriors and by birth. At the end of this period the number of chieftains had diminished and their power had grown and this resulted in a long and bloody civil war known as Age of the Sturlungs. A typical battle involved fewer than 1000 men, amphibious operations were an important part of warfare in Iceland in this period, especially in the Westfjords, but large naval engagements were rare. The largest such engagement, known as Flóabardagi, involved a few ships in Húnaflói. In 1855, the Icelandic Army was re-established by Andreas August von Kohl, in 1856, the king provided 180 rixdollars to buy guns, and a further 200 rixdollars the following year. The sheriff became the Captain of the new army, which known as Herfylkingin. In 1860 von Kohl died, and Pétur Bjarnasen took over command, nine years later Bjarnasen died without appointing a successor, and the army fell into disarray. In 1918, Iceland regained sovereignty as a kingdom under the Danish king. Iceland established a Coast Guard shortly afterwards, but it was impossible to establish a standing army. The government hoped that a permanent neutrality would shield the country from invasion, but at the onset of Second World War, the government was concerned about a possible invasion, and decided to expand the Icelandic National Police and its reserves into a military unit

102.
Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan
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The Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is the name of the unified armed forces of Kazakhstan. It consists of the Ground Forces, Air and Air Defence Forces, Naval Forces, the national defence policy aims are based on the Constitution of Kazakhstan. They guarantee the preservation of the independence and sovereignty of the state, the armed forces of Kazakhstan act under the authority of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Defence. The Military Balance 2013 reported the armed forces strength as, Army,20,000, Navy,3,000, Air Force,12,000 and it also reported 31,000 paramilitary personnel. Kazakhstan, alongside Uzbekistan, has a decent and well-equipped military for the region, on May 7,1992, the President of Kazakhstan took a number of actions regarding defence. Mukhtar Altynbayev served as the Minister of Defence twice, most recently from December 2001 to 10 January 2007, on June 30,1992, the Soviet Armed Forces Turkestan Military District disbanded, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The most powerful grouping of forces from the Turkestan Military District then became the core of Kazakhstans new military. On July 6,2000, a Presidential Decree On the structure of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan changed the structure, the Airmobile Forces were created, the transition to the new military-territorial structure, established military districts, harmonized structure and deployment of troops. On August 7, Lieutenant-General A. B, Dzharbulov was appointed commander of the Southern Military District and Lieutenant-General E. Ertaev became commander of the Eastern Military District. In February 2001 a Presidential Decree divided the functions of the Ministry of Defence, on March 30, Major General M. K. Sihimov was appointed commander of the Western Military Region. On October 12, M. Saparov was appointed to Chief of the General Staff, Elamanov became commander of the Airmobile Forces. On December 8, a new Defense Minister was appointed, General K. Altynbayev, and on December 27, Major General K. K. Akhmadiev was appointed commander of the Air Defense Forces. Key defense posts announced early in 2002 included, Major-General Tasbulatov appointed Deputy of the Defense Minister, Maj. Gen. Elamanov commander of the Southern Military District, Maj. Gen. N. А. Kazakhstan had its first military parade in its history at Otar military base on May 7,2013, during the ceremony, the first woman was promoted to the rank of General. Kazakhstan is a member of CSTO and SCO. Kazakhstan also has an Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO & strategic cooperation with the Turkish Armed Forces, the 32nd Army had been serving in Kazakhstan for many years. The 32nd Army had been redesignated initially the 1st Army Corps and it came under Kazakh control in May 1992. On November 1,1992, on the basis of units of the former Soviet 40th Army of the Turkestan Military District, later, at its base was established the Eastern Military District, retitled on 13 November 2003 as Regional Command East

Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan
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Kazakh Airmobile Forces Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan
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Coat of Arms of the Kazakh Armed Forces
Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan
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Kazakh paratrooper in 2000
Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan
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Kazakh paratroopers in combat gear

103.
Lithuanian Armed Forces
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The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of 20565 active personnel. Conscription was ended in September 2008 but was reintroduced in 2015 because of concerns about the environment in light of Russias military intervention in Ukraine. Lithuanias defence system is based on the concept of total and unconditional defence mandated by Lithuanias National Security Strategy, the goal of Lithuanias defence policy is to prepare their society for general defence and to integrate Lithuania into Western security and defence structures. The defence ministry is responsible for combat forces, search and rescue, a special security department handles VIP protection and communications security. Directly subordinated to the Chief of Defence are the Special Operations Forces, the Reserve Forces are under command of the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces. The core of the Lithuanian Land Force structure is the Iron Wolf Mechanised Infantry Brigade consisting of three mechanized infantry battalions and artillery battalion, the Lithuanian Land forces are undertaking a major modernization. New weapons and heavier armour are going to be acquired, in 2007 the Land forces bought the German Heckler & Koch G36 rifle to replace the older Swedish Ak-4 as main weapon. There are plans to buy new Infantry fighting vehicles, the volunteers have already successfully participated in international operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. The NDVF consists of six territorial units, the Lithuanian Air Force is an integral part of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The LAF is formed from professional military servicemen and non-military personnel, units are located at various bases across Lithuania, Kaunas, Karmėlava, Nemirseta, Šiauliai, Radviliškis. The initial formation of the LAF was the 2nd transport squadron with the transfer of 20 An-2 aircraft from civilian to military use and these were joined by four L-39C Albatros aircraft purchased from Kazakhstan as part of the intended 16 to be used by the 1st fighter squadron. Mil Mi-8 helicopters were modernised by LAF, in 20082 medium-range radars were acquired for the Air Forces Airspace Surveillance and Control Command. Air space is patrolled by jet fighters from other NATO members, the European Unions External border is patrolled by Aviation Unit of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service which received new helicopters EC-120, EC-135 and EC-145. The Navy has over 600 personnel, the flotilla is the core component of the Navy, and consists of the Mine Countermeasures Squadron, the Patrol Ships Squadron, and the Harbour Boats Group. The current Commander in Chief of the Lithuanian Navy is Rear Admiral Kęstutis Macijauskas, the Naval base and Headquarters are located in the city of Klaipėda. The Navy uses patrol ships for coastal surveillance, the four newly acquired Flyvefisken class patrol vessels replaced the older Storm class patrol boats and Grisha class corvettes. SOF is formed from the Special Operations Unit, SOF are responsible for the following tasks, special reconnaissance, direct actions, and military support. It is also in charge of tasks, e. g. protection of VIP in peacetime

104.
Norwegian Armed Forces
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The Norwegian Armed Forces is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of four branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the armed forces number 23,000 personnel, including civilian employees, and have a full-mobilisation combat strength of 83,000. The armed forces are subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, led by Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, the formal commander-in-chief is King Harald V, however, the de facto commander-in-chief is Chief of Defence Haakon Bruun-Hanssen. His staff is located at Akershus Fortress in Oslo, while the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, the main naval base is Haakonsvern in Bergen, the main army camps are in Bardu, Målselv and Rena, and the main air station is Ørland. An organised military was first assembled in Norway in the 9th century and was focused around naval warfare. The army was created in 1628 as part of Denmark–Norway, followed by two centuries of regular wars, a Norwegian military was established in 1814, but the military did not see combat until the German occupation of Norway in 1940. Norway abandoned its position as a country in 1949 to become a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The Cold War saw a large build-up of air stations and military bases, since the 2000s, the military has transformed from a focus on defence from an invasion to a mobile force for international missions. Among European NATO members, the expenditure of US$7.2 billion is the highest per capita. The Chief of Defence heads the armed forces, and is the military adviser to the Minister of Defence. It is headed by a general or admiral. DEFSTNOR assigns priorities, manages resources, provides force generation and support activities, each of the four branches of defence is headed by a two-star general/admiral who are subordinate to DEFSTNOR. National Joint Headquarters located at Reitan, close to Bodø has operational control of Norwegian armed forces worldwide 24/7 and it is headed by the Supreme Commander Norwegian Forces - a three-star general or admiral. Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation at Kolsås outside Oslo is responsible for engineering, procurement, investment, supply, information and it is also responsible for maintenance, repair and storage of material. Norway employs a form of mandatory military service for men and women. While 63,841 men and women were called in for the examination of persons liable for service in 2012,9265 were conscripted. In 2015 conscription was extended to women making Norway the first NATO member, there is a right of conscientious objection. The press statements read, that serves as a means to “fight climate change”

105.
Military of San Marino
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San Marino has one of the smallest military forces in the world. Its different branches have varied functions including, performing duties, patrolling borders, mounting guard at government buildings. There is also a military Gendarmerie which is part of the forces of the republic. The entire military corps of San Marino depends upon the co-operation of full-time forces and their colleagues, known as the Corpi Militari Volontari. National defence in the face of a world power is, by arrangement. There is no service, however under special circumstances citizens aged 16 to 55 may be drafted for the defence of the state. Although once at the heart of San Marinos army, the Crossbow Corps is now a ceremonial force of about 70 volunteer soldiers. The Crossbow Corps has a history from its first mention in the national statutes of 1295. The Guard of the Rock is a military unit in the San Marino armed forces. Its precise origin is difficult to pinpoint due to amalgamations, the Guard of the Rock are the state border patrol, with responsibility for patrolling borders and defending them. In their role as Fortress Guards they are responsible for the guarding of the Palazzo Pubblico in San Marino City. In this role, they are the forces most visible to tourists, under the 1987 statute, the Guard of the Rock are all enrolled as Criminal Police Officers and act to assist the police in investigating major crime. The uniform of the Guard of the Rock is distinctively red and green, for routine patrol duties on the border the uniform is simple and modern, with red trousers, green bomber-jacket, and a green peaked hat. For ceremonial duties the Guard of the Rock carry Beretta BM59 rifles, for patrol duties they are armed with 9mm Glock 17 pistols, and they patrol in green and white patrol cars. This volunteer unit maintains the original function of the Fortress Guard. Although both units are part of the same Guard Corps, and wear the uniform, the Artillery Unit has a totally different military cap badge. Its full name is The Guard of the Council Great and General and this unit, formed in 1740, is composed almost entirely of volunteers, and its duties are largely ceremonial, although members undergo full military training. Due to its uniform, it is arguably the best-known part of the Sammarinese military

Military of San Marino
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The Guard of the Rock in number 1 uniform during the ceremony for the establishment of Captains Regent.
Military of San Marino
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Three members of the Guard of the Rock - this is the number 2 uniform (informal ceremonial). An officer is in the centre.
Military of San Marino
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A member of the Guard of the Council - this is the number 1 uniform (formal ceremonial) of an officer.
Military of San Marino
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A Subaru of the Gendarmerie

106.
Slovak Armed Forces
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The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic number 15,996 uniformed personnel and 3,761 civilians. Slovakia joined NATO on 29 March 2004, from 2006 the army transformed into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished. Ground forces - are made up of two mechanized infantry brigades and a Combat Support Brigade. Air and air defence forces - comprising one wing of fighters, one wing of utility helicopters, air defence systems SA-6 Gainful -5 batteries SA-10 Grumble -1 battery SA-18 Grouse -72 pcs The 5th Special Forces Regiment is Slovakias counter-terrorism and special operations unit. The unit is attached to the armed forces general staff. Slovakia has 169 military personnel deployed in Cyprus for UNFICYP United Nations led peace support operations, Slovakia committed to increase the number of its troops in Afghanistan to around 45 men by the end of 2016. Slovakia has 41 troops deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina for EUFOR Althea, Slovak troops were withdrawn from Kosovo because the Slovak Armed Forces set its priority to focus mainly on an Afghanistan NATO led mission. Since the independence of Slovakia in 1993, there have been 59 uniformed personnel deaths in the line of service to the United Nations, official homepage of the Ministry of Defence Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Picture gallery Slovak military photos

107.
Swedish Armed Forces
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It consists of, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Air Force and the Swedish Navy, with addition of a military reserve force, the Home Guard. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is traditionally attributed as Honorary General and Admiral à la suite, wars with Russia culminated in the Finnish War, with Sweden losing Finland. In 2010, peacetime conscription was abolished, replacing it with armed forces including the Home Guard – National Security Force until 2018. Units from the Swedish Armed Forces are currently on deployment in international operations either actively or as military observers, including Afghanistan as part of ISAF. Moreover, Swedish Armed Forces contribute as the nation for an EU Battle Group approximately once every three years. Wars with Russia culminated in the Finnish War, with Sweden losing Finland, in 2010, peacetime conscription was abolished, replacing it with volunteer armed forces including the Home Guard – National Security Force. In March 2017 the Swedish government decided to reintroduce military conscription from 1 January 2018, in 2016 the Swedish armed forces included elements of gender theory into its tactical training. The Swedish Armed Forces have four main tasks, To assert the territorial integrity of Sweden, to defend the country if attacked by a foreign nation. To support the community in case of disasters. To deploy forces to international peace support operations, Sweden aims to have the option of remaining neutral in case of proximate war. However, Sweden cooperates militarily with a number of foreign countries, in 2008 a partnership was initiated between the Nordic countries to, among other things, increase the capability of joint action, and this led to the creation of NORDEFCO. As a response to the military cooperation the defence proposition of 2009 stated that Sweden will not remain passive if a Nordic country or a member of the European Union were attacked. However, after the 2008 South Ossetia war territorial defense was again emphasized. Until then most units could not be mobilized within one year, in 2009 the Minister for Defence stated that in the future all of the armed forces must capable of fully mobilizing within one week. In 2013, after Russian air exercises in close proximity to the Swedish border were widely reported, the Supreme Commander is a four-star general or flag officer that is the agency head of the Swedish Armed Forces, and is the highest ranking professional officer on active duty. The Supreme Commander in turn reports, normally through the Minister for Defence, directly to the Government of Sweden, which in turn answers to the Riksdag. The Swedish Armed Forces consists of three branches, the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, with addition of the Home Guard. Since 1994, the first three branches are organized within a single unified government agency, headed by the Supreme Commander

108.
Swiss Armed Forces
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The Swiss Armed Forces operates on land, in the air, and in international waters. Under the countrys system, professional soldiers constitute about 5 percent of the military. Because of Switzerlands long history of neutrality, the armed forces do not take part in conflicts in other countries, Switzerland is part of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme. The structure of the Swiss militia system stipulates that the soldiers keep their own equipment, including all personally assigned weapons. Compulsory military service applies to all male Swiss citizens, with women serving voluntarily, males usually receive initial orders at the age of 18 for military conscription eligibility screening. About two-thirds of young Swiss men are found suitable for service, annually, approximately 20,000 persons are trained in basic training for a duration from 18 to 21 weeks. The reform Army XXI was adopted by vote in 2003. The land component of the Swiss Armed Forces originated from the troops of the Old Swiss Confederacy. The cantonal armies were converted into the army with the constitution of 1848. From this time, it was illegal for the cantons to declare war or to sign capitulations or peace agreements. Paragraph 13 explicitly prohibited the federation from sustaining a standing army, the first complete mobilization, under the command of Hans Herzog, was triggered by the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. In 1875, the army was called in to crush a strike of workers at the Gotthard tunnel, four workers were killed and 13 were severely wounded.5 million, the second largest armed force per capita after the Israeli Defence Forces. Wille was subsequently put in command of the complete mobilization in 1914. Wille also ordered the suppression of the 1918 general strike with military force, three workers were killed, and a rather larger number of soldiers died of the Spanish flu during mobilization. In 1932, the army was called to suppress an anti-fascist demonstration in Geneva, the troops shot dead 13 demonstrators, wounding another 65. This incident long damaged the reputation, leading to persistent calls for its abolition among left-wing politicians. The third complete mobilization of the army took place during World War II under the command of Henri Guisan, the Patrouille des Glaciers race, created to test the abilities of soldiers, was created during the war. In the 1960s and 1970s, the forces were organised according to the Armee 61 structure

109.
Turkish Armed Forces
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The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, in wartime, they are subordinate to the Army and Navy. The President of Turkey is the overall head. The current Chief of the General staff is General Hulusi Akar, the Chief of the General Staff is the Commander of the Armed Forces. In wartime, he acts as the Commander in Chief on behalf of the President of Turkey, furthermore, the General Staff coordinates the military relations of the TAF with NATO member states and other friendly nations. The modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish military perceived itself as the guardian of Kemalist ideology, the official state ideology, especially of the secular aspects of Kemalism. After becoming a member of NATO on 18 February 1952, Turkey initiated a comprehensive program for its armed forces. The Turkish Army sent troops to fight in Korea, where they played pivotal roles at some points, towards the end of the 1980s, a second restructuring process was initiated. The Turkish Armed Forces participate in European Union battlegroups under the control of the European Council, the TAF also contributes operational staff to the Eurocorps multinational army corps initiative of the EU and NATO. The Turkish Armed Forces collectively rank as the second largest standing military force in NATO, Armed Forces, with an estimated strength in 2015 of 639,551 military, civilian and paramilitary personnel. Turkey is one of five NATO member states which are part of the sharing policy of the alliance, together with Belgium, Germany, Italy. After the end of World War I, many Ottoman military personnel escaped from Rumelia to Anatolia in order to part in the national movement. Turkey won the War of Independence in 1922, Turkey remained neutral until the final stages of World War II. In the initial stage of World War II, Turkey signed a treaty of assistance with Great Britain. But after the fall of France, the Turkish government tried to maintain a distance with both the Allies and the Axis. After the German-Soviet War broke out, the Turkish government sent a delegation of observers under Lieutenant General Ali Fuat Erden to the German Eastern Front. Turkey participated in the Korean War as a state of the United Nations and sent the Turkish Brigade to South Korea. On 18 February 1952, Turkey became a member of NATO, the Korean government donated a war memorial for the Turkish soldiers who fought and died in Korea

110.
Armed Forces of Ukraine
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The Armed Forces of Ukraine is the military of Ukraine. They are the principal deterrent force against any aggression that could be shown against the state of Ukraine. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are composed of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, the Ukrainian Navy, the Ukrainian Air Force, Ukraines naval forces maintain their own small Ukrainian Naval Infantry force as well as their own Ukrainian Naval Aviation force. The Ukrainian Sea Guard is the coast guard service of Ukraine, initially these units received minimal funding coming from regional budgets and mostly relied on donations. In November 2014 most of the battalions were integrated into Ukraines Ground forces. National Guard of Ukraine serves as the reserve component of Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukraines armed forces came close to France, which maintained a 229,000 man force and it was reported that Ukraines military swelled to 280,000 personnel. Hryhoriy Pedchenko reported that 51% of Ukraines enlisted personnel were contract soldiers, Military units of other states participate in multinational military exercises with Ukrainian forces in Ukraine regularly. Many of these exercises are held under the NATO co-operation program Partnership for Peace, since 3 June 2016 women are allowed to serve in combat units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The modern military in Ukraine was completely inherited from the Soviet Union, like other Soviet republics, it did not possess its own separate military command, as all military formations were uniformly subordinated to the central command of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Administratively the Ukrainian SSR was divided into three districts and most of the Black Sea Fleet naval bases were located on the coast of Ukraine. As the collapse of the Soviet Union took place in 1991, altogether the Armed Forces of Ukraine included about 780,000 personnel,6,500 tanks, about 7,000 combat armored vehicles,1,500 combat aircraft, and more than 350 ships. On 26 February 1991 a parliamentary Standing Commission for Questions of Security, on August 24,1991, the Ukrainian parliament, in adopting the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, also enacted a short resolution About military formations in Ukraine. This took jurisdiction over all formations of the forces of the Soviet Union stationed on Ukrainian soil, and established one of the key agencies. On 3 September 1991 the Ministry of Defence commenced its duties, on 22 October 1991 units and formations of the Soviet Armed Forces on Ukrainian soil were nationalized. This was followed by two Laws of Ukraine that were adopted by the Supreme Council of Ukraine on December 6,1991, the government of Ukraine surrendered any rights of succession of the Soviet Strategic Deterrence Forces that were staged on the territory of Ukraine. Inherent in the process of creating a domestic military were political decisions by the Ukrainian leadership regarding the countrys non-nuclear, included in this region were Ukraines Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia Oblasts, and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Another key event in the creation of the Ukrainian military was the 1992 Tashkent Treaty and this collective military proved impossible to develop because the former republics of the USSR all wished to go their own way, ripping the intricate Soviet military machine into pieces

Armed Forces of Ukraine
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Tu-22M is dismantled through assistance provided by the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program implemented by the DTRA, 2002
Armed Forces of Ukraine
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Emblem of the Armed Forces
Armed Forces of Ukraine
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Ukrainian Su-25UB
Armed Forces of Ukraine
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SS-20 on display at the Great Patriotic War Museum, Kiev

111.
British Armed Forces
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They also promote Britains wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts, and provide humanitarian aid. Repeatedly emerging victorious from conflicts has allowed Britain to establish itself as one of the leading military. The Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the armed forces by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, with the Acts of Union 1707, the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Britain feared that Russian expansionism in the region would eventually threaten the Empire in India and this ultimately led to British involvement in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. The beginning of the twentieth century served to reduce tensions between Britain and the Russian Empire, partly due to the emergence of a unified German Empire. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Central Powers, the end of the German Empire, the Treaty of Versailles, once again tensions accumulated in European relations, and following Germanys invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Second World War began. The conflict was the most widespread in British history, with British Empire and Commonwealth troops fighting in campaigns from Europe and North Africa, to the Middle East, approximately 390,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops lost their lives. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Axis powers and the establishment of the United Nations, reflecting Britains new role in the world and the escalation of the Cold War, the country became a founding member of the NATO military alliance in 1949. By the mid-1970s, the forces had reconfigured to focus on the responsibilities allocated to them by NATO. While NATO obligations took increased prominence, Britain nonetheless found itself engaged in a number of low-intensity conflicts, however the Dhofar Rebellion and The Troubles emerged as the primary operational concerns of the armed forces. Perhaps the most important conflict during the Cold War, at least in the context of British defence policy, was the Falklands War. Since the end of the Cold War, an international role for the armed forces has been pursued, with re-structuring to deliver a greater focus on expeditionary warfare. In addition to the campaign, the British Army has trained and supplied allies on the ground. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence on 31 March 2016 show that 7,185 British Armed Forces personnel have lost their lives in medal earning theatres since the end of the Second World War. As Sovereign and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is Head of the Armed Forces, the Queen, however, remains the ultimate authority of the military, with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to the monarch. It has been claimed that this includes the power to prevent unconstitutional use of the armed forces, responsibility for the management of the forces is delegated to a number of committees, the Defence Council, Chiefs of Staff Committee, Defence Management Board and three single-service boards. The Defence Council, composed of representatives of the services

British Armed Forces
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The Vulcan Bomber was the backbone of the United Kingdom’s airborne nuclear deterrent during much of the Cold War.
British Armed Forces
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Her Majesty's Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
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David Cameron greets Nicolas Sarkozy at Lancaster House, London, before signing the Defence and Security Co-operation Treaty.
British Armed Forces
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Welsh Guards Trooping the Colour 2007

112.
Military in Vatican City
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The State of Vatican City is an enclave country which lies entirely within Rome, the capital of Italy. The responsibility for defending the state from an aggressor lies primarily with the Italian Armed Forces, Vatican City has within its territory the Pontifical Swiss Guard or Swiss Guard. The Swiss Guard is a small force maintained by the Holy See and is responsible for the safety of the Pope and it controls access to the entrances to the city-state together with the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City, a civilian force maintained by Vatican City. Ever since it was founded in 1929 Vatican City has never been at war and has only seen anything close to military action when it was bombed during World War II, the State of Vatican City was established in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. The Corps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard or Swiss Guard is a small force responsible for the safety of the Pope, like various European powers, earlier Popes recruited Swiss mercenaries as part of an army. The Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II on 22 January 1506 as the bodyguard of the Pope. It is listed in the Annuario Pontificio under Holy See, not under State of Vatican City, at the end of 2005, the Guard had 134 members. Recruitment is arranged by an agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland. Members are armed with small arms and the traditional Halberd, since 1970, the Pontifical Swiss Guard has been the only active military in Vatican City. The officers rank markings illustrated here are those of the Swiss Guard, the Chaplain of the Guard ranks as a lieutenant colonel. The commandant is a member of the Papal Household. Corsican Guard, a militia in Rome active from 1603 to 1662. Papal Zouaves, one of the comprising the army of the Papal States prior to the occupation of Rome in 1870. Noble Guard, the horse guards. Index of Vatican City-related articles List of countries armed forces Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State Pontifical Swiss Guards website

113.
List of states with limited recognition
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A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as de jure sovereign states, but have not been universally recognized as such. These entities often have de facto control of their territory, a number of such entities have existed in the past. There are two traditional doctrines that provide indicia of how a de jure sovereign state comes into being, according to declarative theory, an entitys statehood is independent of its recognition by other states. By contrast, the constitutive theory defines a state as a person of international law if it is recognised as such by other states that are already a member of the international community. Proto-states often reference either or both doctrines in order to legitimise their claims to statehood, there are, for example, entities which meet the declarative criteria, but whose statehood is not recognised by any other states. Non-recognition is often a result of conflicts with other countries that claim those entities as integral parts of their territory, in other cases, two or more partially recognised entities may claim the same territorial area, with each of them de facto in control of a portion of it. Entities that are recognised by only a minority of the worlds states usually reference the declarative doctrine to legitimise their claims, the international community can judge this military presence too intrusive, reducing the entity to a puppet state where effective sovereignty is retained by the foreign power. Historical cases in this sense can be seen in Japanese-led Manchukuo or the German-created Slovak Republic and Independent State of Croatia before, in the 1996 case Loizidou vs. Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights judged Turkey for having exercised authority in the territory of Northern Cyprus. Historically this has happened in the case of the Holy See, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta is currently in this position. See list of governments in exile for unrecognised governments without control over the territory claimed, some states are slow to establish relations with new states and thus do not recognise them, despite having no dispute and sometimes favorable relations. These are excluded from the list, there are 193 United Nations member states. The Holy See and the State of Palestine have observer status in the United Nations. Some states maintain informal relations with states that do not officially recognise them, the Republic of China is one such state, as it maintains unofficial relations with many other states through its Economic and Cultural Offices, which allow regular consular services. This allows the ROC to have economic relations even with states that do not formally recognise it, a total of 56 states, including Germany, Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom, maintain some form of unofficial mission in the ROC. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a sovereign entity and is not included. It has established full diplomatic relations with 105 sovereign states as a subject of international law. Five more states maintain neither and do not recognise its passports, Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, uncontacted peoples who either live in societies that cannot be defined as states or whose statuses as such are not definitively known. Entities considered to be micronations are not included, even though micronations generally claim to be sovereign and independent, it is often up to debate whether a micronation truly controls its claimed territory

List of states with limited recognition
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Women in Somaliland, wearing the colors of the Somaliland flag.

114.
Military of Abkhazia
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The Abkhazian Armed Forces are the military of Abkhazia. The Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Abkhazian armed forces were created on 12 October 1992. The basis of the forces was formed by the ethnic Abkhaz National Guard created early in 1992 prior to the outbreak of the war. Roughly 200,000 to 250,000 Georgian civilians became Internally displaced persons, most of the militarys weapons come from the Russian airborne division base in Gudauta, while others were captured from Georgian forces. On 24 November 2014 the governments of Abkhazia and Russia signed a treaty of cooperation that creates a joint force of troops from the two countries. Georgia regards the Abkhaz armed forces as unlawful military formations and accuses Russia of supplying and training the Abkhaz troops, partly in exchange for Abkhaz land or hotels. The Abkhaz deny this, saying they bought what they have on the market except for five sea cutters received from Russia. Sosnaliev himself is a Russian officer from the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic and held the same post during the Abkhazian war, similarly, former chief of staff, Major General Anatoly Zaitsev had previously served as deputy commander of the Transbaikal Military District in Russia. Another top official, Deputy Defence Minister Aleksandr Pavlushko is a Russian colonel, Georgia also regularly accuses Abkhazia of forcibly recruiting Georgian returnees from the Gali district into the armed forces. The Abkhaz military is primarily a force but includes small sea. In 2006, an anti-terrorist centre of some 200 personnel was created under the de facto ministry of interior, the de facto minister of finance estimated, in 2006, that 35 per cent of Abkhazia’s budget was spent on the military and police. On 8 May 2007, Minister of Defence and Vice Premier Sultan Sosnaliyev resigned and he was succeeded as Defence Minister by First Deputy Defence Minister Mirab Kishmaria, in an acting fashion from 10 May and permanently from 26 July onwards. On 14 April 2010, five Deputy Ministers of Defence were retired, Aslan Ankvab was appointed acting First Deputy Minister of Defence and Chief of Staff. On 21 May 2010, Beslan Tsvishba was also appointed First Deputy Minister of Defence, on 29 March 2011, Vladimir Vasilchenko succeeded Aslan Ankvab to become the new, permanent, Chief of Staff and First Deputy Minister of Defence. On 18 May 2015, retired Russian army general Anatoly Khrulyov was appointed Chief of the General Staff by President Raul Khajimba and they are authorised to keep registered weapons at home. The Abkhazian Navy consists of three divisions that are based in Sukhumi, Ochamchire and Pitsunda, four ships Project 1204 Shmel class PBR,657,658, and 328 were transferred from the Russian Navy in the late 1990s. An additional ship ex-AK-527 was also transferred and cannibalized for spares, the three Abkhaz ships did not take part in the 2008 South Ossetia conflict, but their state was unclear. As of 2005 the first two of them had one PSKA Project 1400M Grif class PC speed-boats each, the navy also includes several civil vessels that were equipped with guns and unguided rocket artillery systems

Military of Abkhazia
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Military of Abkhazia
Military of Abkhazia
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T-72
Military of Abkhazia
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T-55
Military of Abkhazia
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BMP-2

115.
Kosovo Security Force
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The Kosovo Security Force or Kosovo Armed Force, is an Army response force charged with conducting crisis response operations in Kosovo and abroad and civil protection operations in Kosovo. Its main tasks are operations in the areas of Search and Rescue, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Firefighting, however, it is also equipped with light weaponry, and the Kosovo government plans to transform it into an army. The Commander of the KSF is Lieutenant General Rrahman Rama, in March 2008, the NATO-led Kosovo Force and the Kosovo Protection Corps started preparations for the formation of the Kosovo Security Force. KFOR entered Kosovo on June 12,1999 under a United Nations mandate, Kosovo declared independence in February 2008. On 19 March 2008, United States President George W. Bush authorised military aid to Kosovo Security Force in another step to establish relations with Kosovo. On 4 January 2009, the names of those who were to be selected for the KSF from the KPC were announced. After being vetted by NATO, roughly 1,400 former members of the KPC were selected to serve as officers and rank, on 21 January 2009, the Kosovo Security Force was officially launched. The KSF did not replace the Kosovo Protection Corps which was disbanded several months later, KFOR was charged with mentoring the KSF and bringing the force to Full Operational Capability. Mentoring efforts were meant to develop the KSF in line with NATO standards, additionally Italy, Portugal and other NATO members are to help the KSF by donations and training. Slovenia donated €30,000 towards the establishment of the KSF, in 2010, the KSF deployed to northern Albania on two separate occasions to perform flood relief operations in support of the Albanian domestic response. President Jahjaga also promoted Kastrati to the rank of Lieutenant General, on 9 July 2013 the Kosovo Security Forces reached Full Operational Capability as determined by NATO. The declaration of full operational capability on 9 July 2013 by the North Atlantic Council means that the KSF is fully capable of performing the assigned to it within its mandate. The KSF will conduct non-military security functions that are not appropriate for the police, recruitment for the Kosovo Security Force started early 2009, once NATO had agreed to implement new tasks in addition to those agreed under UNSCR1244. These new tasks included the standing down of the Kosovo Protection Corps, one of the principal aims was to encourage all minorities to enroll, so special attention was given to carrying out the recruitment process in two languages – Albanian and Serbian. The result has been a professional, multi-ethnic, all-volunteer force, which should continue to remain a source of regional stability. The new Army will have a €98 Million annual budget and will be 5,000 strong with another 3,000 reservists, which will be composed of land forces, a national guard, logistics and training commands. Kosovos ambassador to Turkey, Avni Spahiu, stated that the decision to establish an army has taken in consultation with NATO. The army will have a character as Kosovo has no territorial aspirations

116.
Security Forces Command
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It is a 9,000 strong force primarily made up of conscripted Turkish Cypriot males between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a combined force, with land, air. This force is supplemented by the 17,500 -30,000 strong Turkish Military Forces in Northern Cyprus stationed on the island, even before independence, the Turkish Cypriot community maintained its own paramilitary force, trained and equipped by the Turkish Army. In 1967 this force was renamed the Mücahit, and in 1975 the Mücahit was renamed the Turkish Cypriot Security Force. In 1974, Turkey led an invasion of Northern Cyprus with the aim of protecting the Turkish minority population after a Greek-inspired coup brought a threat of union of the island with Greece. Since then there have no major fight for Cyprus and the nation continues to be an independent country. The Turkish Cypriot Security Force is under the command of an officer of the Turkish Army. The officer is appointed by the Turkish Armed Forces and holds the rank of major general, according to observers a large part of its budget was covered by the Turkish army, upon which it depended for training and equipment. As of 2009, the strength of force was believed to be about 9,000. It was organized into fifteen battalions in two brigades, infantry armed with light weapons plus some artillery units equipped with mortars. Northern Cyprus Coast Guard has 18 vessels. loc. gov/frd/cs/

117.
Enlargement of NATO
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Enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is the process of including new member states in NATO. NATO is an alliance of twenty-six European and two North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows only for the invitation of other European States, countries wishing to join have to meet certain requirements and complete a multi-step process involving political dialogue and military integration. The accession process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, NATOs governing body, after its formation in 1949 with twelve founding members, NATO grew by including Greece and Turkey in 1952 and West Germany in 1955, and then later Spain in 1982. After the Cold War ended, and Germany reunited in 1990, in 1999, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic joined the organization, amid much debate within the organization and Russian opposition. Another expansion came with the accession of seven Central and Eastern European countries, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and these nations were first invited to start talks of membership during the 2002 Prague summit, and joined NATO shortly before the 2004 Istanbul summit. The most recent new members, Albania and Croatia, joined on 1 April 2009, in 2011, NATO officially recognized four aspiring members, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Macedonia has been prevented from joining the alliance by Greece, one effect of the Macedonian naming dispute, the incorporation of countries formerly in the Eastern Bloc has been a cause of increased tension between NATO countries and Russia. NATO has added new members six times since its founding in 1949 to include twenty-eight members. Twelve countries were part of the founding of NATO, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The early years of the Cold War saw a stark divide between Capitalist ideologies, backed by NATO, and Communist satellite states of the Soviet Union and this divide encouraged the anti-Communist governments of Greece and Turkey to join NATO in 1952. Greece would suspend its membership in 1974, over the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the Bonn–Paris conventions ended the allies occupation of West Germany, and were ratified in part on the basis that West Germany join NATO, which it did in 1955. Though initially isolationist, Spain under Francisco Franco was heavily anti-Communist, after its transition to democracy, Spain came under pressure to normalize its European relations, including joining NATO, which it did in 1982. A referendum in 1986 confirmed popular support for this, the first post-Cold War expansion of NATO came with German reunification on 3 October 1990, when the former East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance. This had been agreed in the Two Plus Four Treaty earlier in the year, other authors, such as Mark Kramer, have also highlighted that in 1990 neither side imagined that countries still technically in the Warsaw Pact or the Soviet Union could one day join NATO. In subsequent years, wider forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbors were set up, including the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Hungarys interest in joining was confirmed by a November 1997 referendum that returned 85.3 percent in favor of membership, russias actions in the First Chechen War were also a motivating factor for several countries that had memories of similar Soviet offensives. Russia was particularly upset with the addition of the three Baltic states, the first countries that were part of the Soviet Union to join NATO

118.
North Atlantic Council
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The North Atlantic Council is the principal political decision-making body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, consisting of Permanent Representatives from its member countries. It was established by Article 9 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the North Atlantic Treaty gave the NAC the power to set up subsidiary bodies for various policy functions, including a defense committee to implement other parts of the treaty. Since 1952, the NAC has been in permanent session, the NAC can be held at the Permanent Representative Level, or can be composed of member states Ministers of State, Defense, or Heads of Government. The NAC has the same regardless of the formation it meets under. The NAC meets twice a week, every Tuesday, for an informal lunch discussion, usually, meetings occur amongst the Permanent Representatives who are the senior permanent member of each delegation and is generally a senior civil servant or an experienced ambassador. The list of Permanent Representatives may be found on the NATO website, the 28 members of NATO have diplomatic missions to the organization through embassies in Belgium. The meetings of the NAC are chaired by the Secretary General and, there is no voting or decision by majority. Each nation represented at the NAC table or on any of its subordinate committees retains complete sovereignty and responsibility for its own decisions

North Atlantic Council
North Atlantic Council
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North Atlantic Council Conseil de l'Atlantique Nord

119.
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
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Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations Allied Command Operations. Since 1967 it has been located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons, from 1951 to 2003, SHAPE was the headquarters of Allied Command Europe, ACE. Since 2003 it has been the headquarters of Allied Command Operations, SHAPE retained its traditional name with reference to Europe for legal reasons although the geographical scope of its activities was extended in 2003. At that time, NATOs command in Lisbon, historically part of the Atlantic command, was reassigned to ACO, an integrated military structure for NATO was first established after the Korean War raised questions over the strength of Europes defences against a Soviet attack. The first choice for commander in Europe was American General of the Army Dwight D, on December 19,1950, the North Atlantic Council announced the appointment of General Eisenhower as the first SACEUR. British Field Marshal Sir Bernard L, montgomery moved over from the predecessor Western Union Defence Organization to become the first Deputy SACEUR, who would serve until 1958. In establishing the command, the first NATO planners drew extensively on WUDO plans, General Eisenhower arrived in Paris on January 1,1951, and quickly set to work with a small group of planners to devise a structure for the new European command. The Planning Group worked in the Hotel Astoria in central Paris while construction of a permanent facility began at Rocquencourt, just west of the city, devising command arrangements in the Central Region, which contained the bulk of NATO’s forces, proved to be much more complicated. Drawing upon his World War II experience, General Eisenhower decided to retain overall control himself, instead there would be three separate C-in-Cs. In December 1950 it was announced that the forces initially to come under General Eisenhowers command were to be the U. S, on April 2,1951, General Eisenhower signed the activation order for Allied Command Europe and its headquarters at SHAPE. Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe was activated in Fontainebleau, France in 1953, on the same day, ACEs subordinate headquarters in Northern and Central Europe were activated, with the Southern Region following in June. By 1954 ACEs forces consisted of Allied Forces Northern Europe, at Oslo, Allied Forces Central Europe, Allied Forces Southern Europe, hodes, United States Army Allied Forces Southern Europe – Admiral R. P. M. Two 1952 central region exercises involved air-ground combined forces, equinox was a major air-ground exercise involving French-American tactical air units and a French airborne infantry unit under the command of Général dArmée Alphonse Juin, French Army. They maneuvered east of the Rhine River in the British Zone under the command of Lt. General Sir Richard Nelson Gale. Finally, Rosebud involved ground maneuvers by the U. S, seventh Army in the American Zone of Occupation of Allied-occupied Germany. The initial plans saw the defence of Western Europe from a Soviet invasion resting heavily on nuclear weapons, the conventional forces would attempt to hold this line while the allied strategic air forces defeated the Soviets and their allies by destroying their economy and infrastructure. What this strategy meant for the battle in the central region was described for publicity purposes in January 1954 by then-Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alfred Gruenther as. An air-ground shield which, although still not strong enough, would force an enemy to concentrate prior to attack, in doing so, the concentrating force would be extremely vulnerable to losses from atomic weapon attacks

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
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The greater coat of arms of SHAPE, featuring the flags of the member states as supporters
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
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Organisation of ACE in 1952
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
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Main building at SHAPE
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
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Not to be confused with Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force.

120.
Allied Maritime Command
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Allied Maritime Command is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the Commander MARCOM is the prime maritime advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, it provides the core of the responsible for the conduct of maritime operations. The command is based at the Northwood Headquarters in northwest London, the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, gained a NATO responsibility as Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic Area, as part of SACLANT, when the NATO military command structure was established in 1953. CINCEASTLANT headquarters was established at the Northwood Headquarters in northwest London, Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic was redesignated as Commander, Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood around 2004. The command, which was renamed Allied Maritime Command Northwood in 2010, at the 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon it was decided to create a leaner and more effective command structure. It is responsible for planning and conducting all NATO maritime operations, MARCOM leads four standing NATO maritime groups, two frigate groups and two mine countermeasures groups. The Standing NATO Maritime Groups are a multinational, integrated maritime force made up of vessels from allied countries, the ships and any aircraft aboard are available to NATO to support Alliance tasking. These groups provide NATO with a continuous maritime capability, the command is also responsible for additional naval assets as they support NATO missions. Current groups are, Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1, current operations include, Operation Active Endeavour and Operation Ocean Shield Official website

121.
Member states of NATO
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NATO is an international alliance that consists of 28 member states from North America and Europe. It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949, of the 28 member countries, two are located in North America and 25 are European countries while Turkey is in Eurasia. All members have militaries, except for Iceland which does not have a typical army, three of NATOs members are nuclear weapons states, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. NATO has 12 original founding member states, and from February 181952 to May 6,1955, it added 3 more member nations. After the end of the Cold War, NATO added 12 more member nations from March 12,1999 to April 1,2009, NATO has added new members six times since its founding in 1949, and since 2009 NATO has had 28 members. Twelve countries were part of the founding of NATO, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1952, Greece and Turkey became members of the Alliance, joined later by West Germany, in 1990, with the reunification of Germany, NATO grew to include the former country of East Germany. In 1997, three former Warsaw Pact countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, were invited to join NATO. After this fourth enlargement in 1999, the Vilnius group of The Baltics and seven East European countries formed in May 2000 to cooperate, seven of these countries joined in the fifth enlargement in 2004. Albania and Croatia joined in the enlargement in 2009. Due to the 2016–17 Turkish purges and Turkeys turn to some have speculated that Turkey could be expelled from NATO